


To Build a Home

by just_peachy



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Aranea and Prompto are besties!, Ardyn is still an asshole, CEO! Regis, F/F, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Angst post-Chapter 11, Lots of Crying, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Burn(ish), Soulmate Color AU, Strangers to Lovers, bartender!cindy, blind!noctis, ignis! up and coming business man, iris and gladio! accountants, journalist!aranea, photojournalist!prompto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-09-27 19:43:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 61,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10043168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_peachy/pseuds/just_peachy
Summary: This world of Eos is ruled by the idea that once you meet your soulmate, you will finally see color. Prompto Argentum is a photojournalist and is doing his best work for the local paper. Even though he sees the world through black and white, he is still successful even amongst his competitive peers.That is until one day, when he finds his soulmate...





	1. Bloom

There are only so many times that Prompto can take the same shot of the same figure before he can call it quits. He blamed it on the lighting and moved on his way. It was difficult to try and make a living taking pictures when he did not see color. Yet, Prompto managed to be a pretty good photographer, even without seeing color. In their Lucian society, it was modeled around the idea that black was the color of royalty because it was something each person could see. Therefore everyone had the potential for greatness. It was a lovely idea, but that was not the most important thing about the world. In this world, once someone found their soulmate, the person that they were going to marry and/or spend their lives with, it would all change. New avenues were opened to those that were able to make that leap. Now twenty-four, Prompto had still not been able to see color but he did not begrudge his future soulmate. If anything, it provided him chances to be more creative as a photojournalist.

True love would have to wait until after work. He was taking pictures of a new building complex that was going up for an expanding “Palm” district in Insomnia. The city was growing exponentially thanks to the resurgence of an old technology corporation, Caleum Industries. Prompto listened to the stories of some of the new workers coming in from all over Eos to get a chance to work for the prestigious new company. Even Prompto looked once or twice on the website for a chance to submit work. However, his fellow photojournalists were always able to snag the jobs because the editors left notes for his that said the same thing: The colors were not the best.

Prompto tried his best to make it work and he was able to make a good enough career out of his photography. His first boss at the local “Lucian Times,” the best paper in Insomnia, told him that he admired that Prompto could get a great shot even without color. He took pride in being the only one on crew that had not fallen in love yet. His other co-workers made fun of him, but he enjoyed being competitive when it came to front page photos. So far, he was in the lead with 17. It only made trying to get the perfect shot all the more rewarding. Especially if it was under the nose of someone that had already fallen in love.

This late afternoon, Prompto had tried to take some more artistic photos but none were coming out well at the moment. Despite that, he made his was down to his last job of the day. The new and unincorporated area was getting expanded upon with new housing, new shops, new hot spots and new everything. Prompto quickened his pace and felt like that new shops looked beautiful. There was someone blocking the entrance to the opening ceremony up ahead. However, Prompto had his press pass ready and his camera on.

“Good late-afternoon,” Prompto said brightly. He looked at a haughty looking worker in a black suit and horn-rimmed glasses. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit and a drawl expression. Prompto thought he looked like a kill-joy. “Prompto Argentum, I work for the Times. I wanted to see if I could get a photo with the Caleum groundbreaking ceremony.”

The man inspected him and sighed. “Hello. I think I could help you out with that.” The man with glasses ushered some security guard to take his place while he led Prompto to the main area where everything would be taking place.

“Thank you!” Prompto beamed. “I appreciate it.”

Prompto wordlessly followed the man and took random pictures of the site. There were many more people in suits than he would have liked. He felt out of place in jeans and a hoodie but… he did not have time to feel out of place. He had a job to do.

“So how long have you been working for the company?” Prompto asked. He tried his best to get as many shots as he could. He noticed a few photographers and cameramen from the local news stations and rival papers. They would nod at each other but each person was clearly vying for the same glory shots.

“Around five years, after I graduated from college,” the man replied. “This company has really thrived in the past couple of years and I am honored to be apart of that.”

“Uh huh,” Prompto answered. “So any other plans? Like more manufacturing plants or tech offices?”

“We are considering our options,” the man replied cooly.

“Great,” Prompto continued to get one good shot of the CEO. He was an older man, Regis Lucius Caleum. He had a thick beard, almost-shoulder length and was more handsome in person, in Prompto’s honest opinion. He snapped a few shots of him and a few other people he recognized from his own research. From the corner of his eye, noticed his co-worker Aranea talking with the CFO (Prompto could not remember his name) and taking notes furiously on her notepad while it was stacked on top of her tape recorder.

Aranea spotted him and flapped her hand so that Prompto report back to her. They had worked together on a few big stories. Last year, they had busted a con involving some scams that were targeting the elderly. Early this month, they had closed a case on a sex scandal at a local school. After that case, Aranea and him asked to be put on “lighter” cases that did not involve such emotionally draining content. Prompto slowly realized that Aranea was probably his closest friend but reporting on big cases together on for so long made him realize they both needed the break. Their editor-in-chief, the ever tactful Lunafreya, told them it was fine but she would like that “break” to be as short as possible.

“I still need to sell stories!” was their bosses catch phrase.

Aranea and Prompto laughed at that phrase but it was true. They had to sell something. Today though, was a cookie cutter story. New buildings, a big business bringing fancy jobs and a nice photo-op with community leaders. Prompto could go home and not think about this story an hour from now. He could clock out and go out for drinks at the bar and hope by some miracle that tomorrow would be more of the same. Maybe there would be something new on Netflix. After all, it was the first of the month.

“So,” Aranea breathed. “The CFO is a creep. But this seems pretty cut and dry don’t you think?”

“Yeah I think so,” Prompto snapped another shot and continued to peer through the crowds of suits.

“Did you find a good shot yet?” Aranea peered through the viewfinder while Prompto let her perch up to get a better view. “You know, if this ends early, we should go get drinks.”

“You just want to see your girlfriend,” Prompto said nonchalantly.

“That too,” Aranea grinned. She was still looking through the shots. Prompto secretly liked when Aranea looked and faved the ones she liked. Two years ago, Prompto and her walked into the newly opened bar by the Times building. Aranea and Prompto thought nothing of it, there was a happy hour and they were both exhausted. What he did not anticipate was Aranea and Cindy fumbling in front of him and the rest of the patrons. Aranea behaved in a way he had never seen before. The uptight attitude disappeared and his long-time friend transformed in front of him. She looked so happy and it was the same for the beautiful bartender that he had never met before. They both burst into tears when they looked at each other. Some other bar patrons cheered when they hugged and said hello to one another. Prompto had met maybe five couples that had met as soulmates when he was in school. The funniest one was in kindergarten, when two boys looked at each other and kept giggling the entire day while the teacher held the first day of school crafting activities. Prompto did not understand what was going on, but the teacher was so happy as were the boys.

“At least we all know now,” Prompto remembered one of the parents telling his teacher. That must have been nice. To know and not be filled with uncertainty.

“Hey,” Aranea waved her hand in front of Prompto’s face. “Let me get at least two more quotes before you become a spaz.”

“Fine,” Prompto graciously took back his camera. The photos he had liked were the same ones Aranea had liked. So at least he did not worry about that Luna breathing down his neck about that either.

“You are going to win a pulitzer when you can finally see everything my friend,” Aranea grinned. She waved her hand and was gone to find some more people to interview. Aranea wandered through the crowd of suits effortlessly, hair billowing in the air and punctuated her motions with the click of her pen. Prompto remembered a time from before she met Cindy, when they both started working at the paper at the same time. They both waxed on about how lucky everyone else was. Aranea’s journalism school buddies were all getting married and having children. Prompto waxed on about the same things. Now, it was different, Cindy and Aranea brought their third wheel Prompto to so many bars and hot night clubs and he tried to look for that one person. After about a month of the search, he got sick of it and just said, it would happen naturally. He would wait.

Prompto saw the man with glasses that he met earlier with a much bigger looking man who looked like he could break him in half. He approached them with an eager grin on his face.

“Do you know when the groundbreaking will start?” Prompto asked.

“Soon,” the man with glasses said. “The CEO is bringing his son to participate. I would take your spot soon.”

The much bigger Schwarzenegger looking man nodded and grunted. Prompto softened his grin and looked at the man with glasses with a nod.

“Thanks again Mr…?” Prompto murmured.

“It’s Ignis,” the man with glasses said. “This is one of the accountants, Gladio.”

“Nice to meet you,” Prompto waved. The much bigger man, Gladio, did a lazy salute to Prompto and nodded. Prompto just assumed he was a man of few words and left it at that. “Thank you for earlier.”

“No problem,” Ignis nodded.

Prompto made his way towards the already budding line of photographers and cameramen. Prompto always made it a point to be on the left side. He was comfortable with that side because the shadows, especially at this time of the day, looked the best. Luckily, he was able to ready himself to squat down for that extended period of time. He noticed Aranea taking a few more notes from a bald man with wide shoulders. Prompto made a note of that and watched as he saw Mr. Caleum make his way to the podium that was in front for the media and press.

Prompto did not pay much attention to his words. He had been to so many of these before. It was nothing special. Aranea took her spot in the bullpen and took notes furiously. Prompto took photos when there weren’t that many flashes and looked at his set before taking some more photos. Regis kept waxing on about how these buildings would establish the “continuing growth of Insomnia” and “this would bring thousands of job seekers to the city.” Prompto just sighed and thought that it would be nice to afford one monthly payment for one such apartment.

It did not matter. He just took the photos and did what he was supposed to do. Regis wrapped up his speech and ushered for his son to be brought in to finish the groundbreaking. Prompto noticed Aranea raising her hand for questions. He smiled and vaguely heard, “Will there be time for questions?” Ignis, the man that Prompto met earlier, answered that of course there will be. Prompto left it at that and caught Aranea’s eye. She grinned at him and he shifted towards the part of the ground that would be used.

Prompto looked and found a good spot. This would probably be the shot used for the lifestyle page. So he tried to find a good angle to take of the CEO with his son. Prompto did not know he had one but he thought that, of course, he have one. He stood on the usual left side and found a nice spot to take his photograph. Prompto had noticed that Schwarzenegger man from earlier, Gladio, and noticed a much smaller man beside him. Prompto took his photos and held the camera down to look through the viewfinder. Those photos looked fine, so he continued to take more pictures. The father and son duo were out in front for them all, shovels in hand. Prompto adjusted to the flashes from all over the press line.

It took him about a moment to realize that something was not right. The son… he looked weird….

“My son... Noctis,” Regis smiled. “He will be assisting me today.” Noctis was wearing thick and dark glasses while doing a polite wave towards the journalists. It was when Prompto noticed Noctis smiling that his stomach felt lighter than it had in a long time. His camera, his job and the crowd around him was becoming nonexistent.

Prompto looked at him, and knew that he would never be the same. It was as though the world had changed but it had not. Everyone around him had kept talking and snapping pictures. But he could now see in a way he could not before. The greys and whites around had changed. The hues of the ground were becoming new and blossoming around him. Flowers that he had not paid attention to in the foreground became a new hue of wonder that he did not comprehend. The fountain across the street shined in a way that he did not believe existed before. It was all beautiful. He could see, this must have been his soulmate, his lover, his future. Prompto saw the world of potential thriving before his eyes. It mesmerized him and scared him. Before he knew it, he felt a stream of tears welling up. The world was so beautiful, how was that even possible.

Everything else around him became white noise. The flashes, the people yelling for new shots and the journalists’ questions. Prompto then looked up at Noctis. His shovel was replaced with a small cane. Prompto covered his mouth and could not believe it. He felt overwhelmed and felt the tears falling freely now. It was overwhelming. He had lightly teased Aranea that night they met Cindy but now, he believed that was a foolish thing to do. Noctis did another polite wave and lightly dug his white cane into the ground, even as his Dad continued to dig. The photojournalists even did a small clap for the pair. It was a lovely sight. Regis thanked everyone for being there and gave a side hug to his son. Prompto memorized that name. Noctis.

The other man from before, Ignis, held out a his arm and called out his name, “Noctis.” Aranea kept trying to get his attention but it did not work. Prompto felt the tears rolling down his cheeks. He could see. He knew what everyone was talking about, to see in this was. His mind raced on what to do next. Prompto had to speak to him immediately and watched him. Aranea made her way to join him but he continued to watch Noctis. Ignis, the man he met earlier, held out his arm and Noctis locked arms with him. Prompto could now see that the white cane was two colors, the bottom part of the cane had a color he did not know. It was bright and the end of the cane had a white ball attached to it.

Prompto gasped, even as Aranea approached him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in a worried tone. “Hey, Prompto… you are kinda scaring me?”

“What the fuck,” muttered Prompto. “I can see…”

“See what?” Aranea asked. “What happened?”

“I can see!” Prompto almost yelled. “It’s that guy… Noctis…”

Aranea looked at Noctis, then back at Prompto, then back at Noctis. The dawn of realization on her face was matched by her pulling Prompto into a hug then repeating “yes” at the top of her lungs repeatedly. Prompto let her manhandle him because he was still in shock. It was until she stopped shaking him that she looked at Noctis again and then she realized what Prompto had already known from the moment he laid eyes on Noctis.

“Umm,” Aranea said cooly. “... So… your soulmate can’t see…”

Prompto was still in tears. “Yup…”

“How is that going to work?” Aranea said, absolutely dumbfounded.

Prompto sighed and watched as his soulmate walked away with the rest of the Suits as well as the men he met earlier. It was late and the son was starting to set. He watched as they all got smaller and smaller as they headed into their luxury cars. How would Noctis know it was him? That Prompto was the one he was looking for as well...

“I have no idea…”


	2. Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the Soulmates meet...

“So y’all need a plan,” Cindy stated plainly. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Aranea and Prompto. “...That better be your last drink Prompto. Right now seems like a good cut off point, Stud.”

“I swear,” Prompto sighed. “This is the last one…”

“It better be,” Aranea continued to sip on her beer. “I am still in shock.”

“Why is beer so…” Prompto continued to look at his glass and the color of it. “It’s so weird…”

“Stud,” Cindy drawled. “It takes a while to adjust. It took me a month, but it made getting orders much easier. Although, my paperclip system was great too. You know Babe,” Cindy looked over at Aranea wide-eyed. “Shouldn’t he go to that adult school class so he can learn the colors properly. That helped me and you a lot.”

“That is the first thing you should do,” Aranea eyed Prompto sadly. “Then after that, we should do some research. Maybe there is a love story like yours. I remember one as a kid with a man that was deaf falling in love with someone that could hear just fine. So it is not impossible! It’ll just be… kinda hard.”

Prompto groaned and was about to put his head down on the bar table but Cindy grabbed his head before that happened. “I haven’t wiped this side yet Stud.”

“Fine,” Prompto shook off her hands but was still disappointed. He had a childish vision of finally meeting the love of his life and fully enjoying his experience as a he had seen others do. Instead of going on the first date and exploring what his options were next, he was stuck drinking his weight in beer. 

Aranea, wasting no time after leaving their job, had already looked up some stories on her phone meanwhile Prompto and her took the Subway back downtown. The most important facts were that Noctis’ was 24, like Prompto but his 25th birthday would be in two weeks. Noctis was currently going to law school, he was the only child, his mother died when he was young and he was blinded by an accident as a child. Aranea found a news article that briefly summarized the event. Noctis was at the famous Century Park with a Nanny, when he and the nanny were attacked. Noctis was attacked and was gravely injured. The Nanny was also severely injured but survived, Noctis was blinded by the incident. Prompto was horrified to know the details, but he vaguely remembered hearing something like that. But it was when Prompto was a child, so he could not be sure.

Aranea mentioned the birthday party again. There would be a chance that their Editor in Chief, Lunafreya, would have an invite. Prompto was prepared to beg Luna and take as many overtime jobs as possible to make that happen. And if she could not get one, he’d find a way. The last fact was troubling but Aranea found a small social media post from a former law school girlfriend of Noctis. She was, what many in Eos had infamously named, a Zeph. A Zeph, essentially, was someone who had found their soulmate, but dated other people or cheated on their soulmate. Aranea scoffed at the idea and always thought Zephs were the worst. It was different from a Dicey couple (Lucian slang only), which were two people that did not see color, but dated before they found their match. 

“Imagine,” Aranea huffed. “Setting up that you are going to meet this wonderful person and they are going to be your everything. And they still fucking cheat. That must be the worst.”

They did some more research but did not find anymore details. Prompto felt terrible. Hopefully he would get the full story soon. However, Aranea had many bottles of liquor she wanted to give Prompto instead. So now they were at the bar, getting as trashed as they could get on a Thursday night.

“You know what sucks,” Prompto slurred. “... Everything.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Aranea began. “We just have to get you to be on your A-game. You are not going to win him over with looks. You need to be the nicest, kindest, sweetest dude to him. Charm him with everything you have and you should be good. We’ll just research as much as we can and hope for the best.”

“This is so romantic,” sighed Cindy. “That boy Noctis is not going to know what hit him.”

“He’s going to think I… I…” Prompto burped but tried to refocus. “I am a Gold Digger. Which _I am not._ ”

“Of course not Stud,” Cindy grinned. “You are just going to fall so in love.”

“How is it?” Prompto propped his arms on the bar, resting his head on top of his knuckles. Cindy matched his pose perfectly. “Being in love?”

“It is the greatest feelin’ in the whole wide world. You don’t know how you did _anything_ beforehand. It is the best. You’re gonna be so happy.” Cindy grinned widely and patted Prompto on the head. She went down the bar to take an order from a new customer that just walked through. 

Prompto sighed and Aranea rolled her eyes. “Look Prompto. We are going to get nothing done with you moping. You can get trashed tonight because you are sad. Tomorrow, no more sadness.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“We are going to find a way to meet him, make sure he knows you exist and he’ll be ready to fall in love.”

“ _Sure_ ,” Prompto giggled. He heard Aranea groan but he already felt the alcohol start to affect him in the worst way. Aranea waved back towards Cindy to get her attention. 

“I’m going to drop him off,” Aranea half-yelled. “I’ll swing by to walk you home alright?”

“Sure thing Babe,” Cindy grinned and blew a kiss in Aranea’s direction. Prompto gave a half-hearted “Awww” before being smacked lightly by his best friend.

“You have got to pull yourself together,” Aranea huffed. “You are such a Nerd. Just call out tomorrow, nurse that hangover, binge watch some netflix then you will feel refreshed.”

“Hmm,” Prompto grinned. That sounded like it would be a good day. Prompto’s vague and drunken thoughts were focused on how he would be able to meet Noctis. He felt good about having friends that would help him. Although, the thought of trying to make someone naturally fall in love with him seemed so frustrating. He had to try though, from the very little he remembered after the intial shock of seeing Noctis, he thought that his soulmate was very… _very_ attractive.

“Look at the best part: At least you are on team awesome,” Aranea led him down to the final block before Prompto would get into his apartment building. 

“Team Awesome?” Prompto mused.

“It’s the winning gay team,” Aranea grinned. “I never thought you would end up with a guy.”

“Well,” Prompto thought. “I did date this guy with a tattoo on his ass in college. At least he made coffee every time he stayed over.” Prompto felt himself blushing, maybe it was the alcohol but he was still giggling at the thought of dating a guy again.

“So you had a dicey relationship,” Aranea laughed. “Wow, how did that work out.”

“Terribly,” Prompto rolled his eyes. “He was dating me, some other guy and I think two other girls… I never got a clear answer about that. But he made really good coffee.”

“I never knew that,” Aranea laughed. “Did you date anyone else? I did but I saw those ones as practice for the real deal.”

“Right?” Prompto grinned. “Umm… a girl in high school. Some exchange student from Tenebrae came in senior year and ended that. She saw colors after she met him.”

“I’m sorry,” Aranea said. “That sucks.”

“It’s alright,” Prompto hummed. “And now this… I wonder how he is.”

“You hit the jackpot,” Aranea stated plainly. They had finally reached the door leading up to Prompto’s apartment. “He’s rich and he’s hot _and_ he’s going to be a lawyer.”

“I guess,” Prompto bit his lip. He felt incompetent but he also did not know what else to say. He had little to go on, but he decided to call it a day and focus on how to meet Noctis. “Maybe you should get a ride back?”

“Naw,” Aranea waved her arm. “I have my pepper spray and I know these boots hurt when you have to kick someone in the face with them.”

“Right,” Prompto grabbed his keys and narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t know how you know that, but sure.”

“Good night,” Aranea waved to him. “If you need me, just text me.”

“Sure,” Prompto waved back before finding the right keys to the lock. "Good night!"

***

When Prompto woke up in the morning, his hangover was not as bad as he was anticipating. It was still pretty bad though. He got up and out of bed and headed towards the restroom to wash his face. It was when he was able to look into the mirror that he finally had an awareness to notice how different he looked. Prompto had his phone nearby and looked up the colors on his phone. He found a nice pdf for color guide for those that were now able to see everything.

He immediately looked up what color his eyes were, he liked that they were… blue. But there were hints of another color… violet. Prompto knew that his eyebrows were light, but he did not have any idea that they were _this_ light. The shock of freckles on his face was always there, but now they looked even more pronounced than he assumed they did. His undereye bags looked more… red than he would have liked. The PDF file said there would be about one to two months of readjusting to the color in the world. There were things such as depth perception and sensitivity to certain colors that would disappear over time. Prompto decided to look up the local adult school and see if he would be able to take a class just so he felt more comfortable with his new face and everything else.

“Well,” Prompto said plainly. “At least I don’t have a worry about this.”

Prompto looked at the rest of his body. He was still pretty pale but there were freckles that were across his chest, on his shoulders and down his back. Prompto either did not notice them before or just did not care for them. So he chose to instead marvel at his own body and how different it looked now.

***

Taking the day off allowed Prompto to wander around the city and get accustomed to his sight. He rarely wore his glasses but decided to do it today because he still got a headache even after hitting Century Park. The different shades of greens, reds and blues were amazing to watch unfold before him. Prompto wanted to take as many pictures as possible without looking like a madman in the process. 

After taking off his glasses and finding a nice bench to sit on, he decided to take a break and look around. There were some people that were on runs, enjoying the sights and attempting to find the nearby lake that was in the middle of the park. Prompto put his glasses back on and was happy to be able to see more. His photography would improve and he could perhaps do more.

All in all, Prompto was content. Even if he could not share the view with Noctis…

***

There was thankfully an afternoon class for people who could now see color was in place at the local adult school and community center. Prompto listened avidly but could not focus as well as he would have liked. He was the only person who was alone, there were five pairs of couples avidly giggling and getting to know one another. Prompto avoided talking too much but he did download a few apps that were suggested for the group as well as a handbook that he could use to adjust within the first one to two months. The instructor was also a former art student that gave Prompto a great book and wrote down some suggestions for him so that he could finally study color theory. He was excited. When the meeting finally ended, Prompto was relieved to leave and did so a little too quickly. He had to get out of there. 

As Prompto left, he noticed the usual adult school classes. Lots of older women were taking arts and crafts in the other classrooms, he saw a few people drawing but there was something else that he heard as he began to exit, it was the sound of a piano being played. He heard a nice and pleasant voice pause telling the class they could go and that he would see them next week. There were mostly older married couples exiting the classroom and a few people in their 20s. Prompto stood in the doorway and peeked inside. He saw a black and grey dog peering and him with a blue safety harness around his back. The dog barked at Prompto who immediately withdrew his head.

“Hey,” the voice said. “Did you forget something?”

Prompto did not answer but he peered back in. Immediately, Prompto could not believe his luck, here he was… that guy…

“Sorry,” Noctis said. Prompto stared at his back. He had not turned around to face him. “I can’t tell you what you forgot. Plus I have to leave soon.”

“I didn’t forget anything,” Prompto said a little too quickly. He eyed the dog with trepidation. Of course Noctis would have a guide dog, Prompto thought stupidly. 

“... Okay,” Noctis said, back still to him. “If you want to sign up for the music class, you have to wait until next month. We are full.”

Prompto noted the keyboards that were spread across multiple desks while Noctis was sitting at his own table at the front. Noctis continued to clean up his desk and put some papers in a folder.

“Sure,” Prompto said nervously. “Sorry, this is kind of creepy but I was getting out of a class for the first time and I heard you playing and I liked it. A lot. So I just came in because… yeah it was very... very nice….” Prompto immediately wanted to run away and wished that he could get a time machine and start over again. 

“Umm…” Noctis finally turned around. He had some sunglasses on but tilted his head in Prompto’s direction. Prompto immediately tried to memorize his features. He had dark, almost blue like hair and a nice nose.

“Sorry,” Prompto repeated. “I just thought I should say that before I go.”

“Have we met before?” Noctis asked, he was confused. “Maybe in college or something?”

“No,” Prompto shook his head but realized that was probably not the best thing to do. “No, I don’t think so. I went to the big art school in Altissia.”

“Really?” Noctis replied, there was a small smile on his face. “I haven’t been there in a while.” He stood up and grabbed onto the handle of his guide dog. “If you are interested, you can go sign up for next time.”

“Well,” Prompto said nervously. He took a deep breath and tried to remember Aranea’s advice. He had to be sweet, awesome and charming. He could totally do this. “I used to be in choir in high school. I sucked though.”

“You sing?” Noctis tilted his head again.

“Just in the shower,” Prompto smiled.

Noctis sighed deeply but there was still a grin on his face. “Of course.”

“Look,” Prompto began. “I was actually taking pictures at this groundbreaking event yesterday and you were there—”

Noctis laughed but nodded sagely. “—Oh so you came to see the CEO’s blind son play the piano. Want to see what all the fuss is about…”

“Actually,” Prompto felt the tension in the room increase tremendously. “I did _not_ know that you could play the piano.”

Noctis hummed, as though he was waiting for Prompto to respond.

“Sorry… again,” Prompto began. How could he tell Noctis that he was the one. There was no way to confirm it other than Noctis being able to see him. This could not work, especially since Noctis probably thought he was a creep. “I am a just a photojournalist for the Times. Yesterday, I remembered you. And like I was saying, I was in that seminar down the hall. But I honestly did not know you could play the piano. I just… wanted to hear who was playing the music.”

“Uh huh,” Noctis replied. The dog began to pull on Noctis and he obliged. “There isn’t really a story here. I am going to finish law school, I enjoy volunteering and I am blind. No big deal. And I really have to go.”

“Yeah,” Prompto said sadly. This was going worse than expected, _much worse_. He could not be sweet or charming or awesome. He was just awkward and Prompto cursed the Gods for not giving him, at the very least, some kind of smooth talking persona that could try and chat up literally, the most beautiful and perfect person he had ever seen.

Noctis began to walk past Prompto but stopped before leaving. “Sorry if I was rude, it’s just that I’m not really sure what your intentions are. You work for the paper and nothing is happening in the company worth investigated.”

“I can assure you there really isn’t anything I worth investigating,” Prompto said quietly. “Besides, I just take pictures.” 

“Right,” Noctis said. “Anyways… which class were you in?”

“Umm… t-the crafting one,” Prompto lied. He instantly regretted it but did not know how else to tell Noctis the truth.

“That’s nice,” Noctis smiled and Prompto wanted to see that smile even more. The dog barked again. “We are going now Umbra.” 

“That’s the Dog’s name?” Prompto asked. He had to find a way to keep this conversation going.

“Yeah,” Noctis grinned. “He is very helpful. I hate having to ask people to guide me, so this is easier.”

“Makes sense,” Prompto sighed. “That’s great that you are finishing law school though. I hated school, so I just sang terribly in choir and hoped it would be over soon.”

That got a genuine laugh from Noctis, which made Umbra bark lightly. Prompto moved so that Noctis could exit the door. If nothing else, at least Prompto would be able to know that he can make his soulmate laugh. 

“I’m Noctis by the way,” Noctis held out his hand near Prompto’s general direction but Prompto did take Noctis’ hand gladly. “So no music class for you?"

“Naw,” Prompto grinned. “I’m Prompto… and I am a fantastic photojournalist.”

“Great,” Noctis replied, more relief coming into his voice. “At least you don’t work for a tabloid, thank the Gods.”

“Jeez,” Prompto laughed. “I’m weird but I’m not down for taking pervy shots of socialites 'weird.’”

Noctis hummed and began to walk out of the room. Prompto took the opportunity to keep walking with him. Even when Umbra barked to make sure that Noctis kept walking. 

“So you only follow trust fund kids,” Noctis grinned.

“Well,” Prompto said. “I have to everyday. I still have student loans to pay off.”

Noctis laughed but kept walking alongside Prompto.

“So photography?” Noctis began. “That’s unfortunate…”

“Why?” Prompto was almost offended.

“Well,” Noctis pointed at his glasses. “Duh…”

“But other people enjoy it,” Prompto said sadly. “And I enjoy it enough to make a living out of it.”

“Sorry,” Noctis replied quickly. “I’m probably being rude again. Ignis says I should work on that.”

That name was familiar to Prompto. “I met him at that groundbreaking yesterday,” Prompto said. “He was nice to me.”

“He’s nice to everyone especially after he met his soulmate. They are both tall, Gladio and Ignis. But Gladio was really tall and big…”

“So Ignis and Gladio,” Prompto smiled. “I met them both yesterday. Gladio looked like he could break me in half with his knuckles.”

“They are college sweethearts,” Noctis smiled. “Very tall college sweethearts.”

“So they are your best friends?” Prompto asked.

“Yup,” Noctis said. “They are annoyingly in love. It is bad enough as it is trying to find fun things for the three of us to do. It is something else trying to hang out without the two of them being ridiculous around each other. Annoying right?”

“Now that you mention it,” Prompto began. “My two best friends, Aranea and Cindy, I am their third wheel too. It sucks, but Cindy owes a bar so at least there is that. But they are a great couple…”

“So you are still looking huh?”

Prompto stopped walking even though Noctis kept at it with Umbra. Could he say anything at this point? Would Noctis even believe him? There was no way to prove it to him…

“Sure…” Prompto said lightly.

"You must be a great photographer if you can't see color," Noctis grinned.

"I don't like to brag," Prompto said. "But I am." 

Noctis laughed and so did Prompto. Umbra barked twice and Noctis immediately started walking towards this elegant black car. Prompto did not want to follow but Noctis turned his head in Prompto’s direction when he didn't follow.

“It was nice meeting you Prompto.” Noctis flashed a brief smile before continuing to walk.

“Same here!” Prompto replied. Part of Prompto wanted to scream and yell the truth to Noctis but he felt a little bit better than before. At least his soulmate knew that he existed, which was better than nothing.

As Prompto watched the car driving off, he heard a buzz coming from his pocket. It was probably Aranea. At least he could tell her that he had made some lucky progress. Prompto swiped right on the caller button.

“Hello,” Prompto began. “I have good-ish news I guess.”

“Tell me on your way to the Times,” Aranea said. “I did some research on your boy. You might want to see everything in person. But go on…”

Prompto then took a deep breath and recounted his fateful meeting with Noctis. Aranea let him talk but also took pity on him. She, at least, understood why Prompto could not blurt it all out. In the meantime, Prompto noted how dark it was starting to get 

“That’s good!” Aranea said. “Just make sure you come soon. I have some good information for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rolling along~
> 
> Comments and kudos are the best! Thank you all. I don't know how frequent updates will be, so I'll just say twice a week. If you wanna talk to me about Promptis and just yell at me in general, I'm @malinche on tumblr and @peachynoctis on twitter. 
> 
> Have a great weekend!


	3. Shake Em Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aranea and Prompto come up with a game plan...

Aranea had urged Prompto to hurry over to the Times building and he did. She was busy digging through information regarding the Caelum Company and wanted to make sure that she had something substantial. She went over Noctis’ horrific attack when he was a child and called the original journalist that reported on the case. She was retired but remembered the story. Aranea thought she could give more details later. The most important part though, was that Aranea found a nice fluff piece twenty-five years prior that detailed a couple where the wife was blind and the husband was not. So Prompto, with great enthusiasm, made sure that he ran-walked to the train that would take him quickly into downtown.

He had felt a bit better about finally meeting his soulmate but was still unsure on what to do. Prompto did not know exactly how Noctis felt about him. Prompto was going over the mistakes he had made in his head over and over again. He had lied. Even if this all had worked out, Noctis still believed that he was a photographer that was still seeing the world in black and white. The smaller lie was that he was not enrolled in the crafting class. Prompto immediately went to the adult school office and enrolled in the Ceramics class and late fee be damned, he was going to see Noctis, at least once a week, until he was able to figure it all out.

As quick as he could, he moved off of the subway when he heard the tonal ping for the Citadel/Downtown area. Prompto approached the doors and pushed back against the rush hour stampede of bodies that were trying to get home. Eventually he was able to reach the front of the Times building. He was a bit anxious since he did call out. Most of the reporters were on their way home and/or did not care about someone coming in at this hour. Prompto’s work station was on the left and near Aranea. His workspace was generally well organized, there were a few photos scattered around and pinned into a clipboard. Aranea’s, by comparison, was starting to look cluttered with papers everywhere. Prompto usually cleaned her desk in exchange for a cup coffee or multiple cups depending on how big the mess was.

“Hello,” Prompto beamed. “Sorry I’m late, but at least I got to meet him today. And I had to sign up for a ceramics class. So at least I will be able to see him once a week.”

“Well,” Aranea started. She glanced up at Prompto and held up a folder filled with some documents. Prompto grabbed it swiftly. “I found some interesting things about the company. But I also found some interesting things about your Soulmate as well. So which one do you wanna hear first?”

“Are they both bad?” Prompto asked.

“Kinda,” Aranea frowned. “The stuff about your Boy, well the details you probably don’t want to hear. They are in that folder you’re holding.”

Prompto opened up the folder and looked at old copies of the Times newspaper. The mother’s death made the front page. Prompto barely looked at that page and moved onto the next one. There was the page on Noctis’ attack in Century Park. He briefly went over the page and moved onto the next page. It was mostly articles about the company and Noctis’ father. These were the pages he had already known about but the last one had the most interesting tidbit that Prompto missed.

“The company was going bankrupt?” Prompto asked.

“Yup,” Aranea stated. “They were going to get bought out. But then they were saved by that creepy CFO I interviewed.” Aranea pointed at the man in the photo but Prompto didn’t remember seeing him at the groundbreaking.

“So what’s so interesting about him?” Prompto asked.

“He’s a really shady business dude,” Aranea stated. “Ardyn Izunia. He got rich with those quick fix loans and did a bunch of small businesses and people dirty in Gralea. I have no idea why he would be interested in the Caelum company though. He probably just wanted to improve his image but who knows. There might be something there for later. Apparently he has to go to court later this month...”

“Right,” Prompto nodded sagely. “Well that’s interesting. Because I thought they were doing fine…”

“Yeah,” Aranea said flatly. “Sure… but that is interesting about your Boy… he likes to volunteer. How adorable.” Aranea took a deep sigh and Prompto laughed at her. “You literally ended up with a Saint. _You_ , an absolute hot mess.”

“Says the person that can’t put this damn wrapper in the trash can that is _right_ underneath your desk!”

“Oh shut up,” Aranea huffed. “But a Ceramics class? Are you sure about that?”

“I mean,” Prompto began. “It was the only one that was open and it ends when Noctis’ class ends. So it’ll be good I can at least talk to him for a bit.”

“Be careful though,” Aranea finally got up from her desk and waved a finger in Prompto’s face. “I was reading some stories from those couples that were blind. And they were... _interesting_ …”

“Go on…” Prompto furrowed his brows and looked worried.

“That’s this stuff here in folder number two,” Aranea said. She waved the folder in front of Prompto’s face. “I pitched the story to Luna… unlikely couples in love. And the ending of this little series is going to be you and your Boy.”

“WHAT?” Prompto yelled. “WE CAN’T DO THAT!”

  
Aranea laughed, “I was just kidding. I would never do that to you. But Luna liked the idea.”

Prompto breathed in a sigh of relief. “Did you tell her about me and Noctis?”

“No,” Aranea grinned. She talked over Prompto’s very audible sigh of relief. “You weren’t here and she wondered why and I explained what happened the day before. Then she just drops that she was friends with the guy in elementary school. In fact, she went to all the fancy private schools with your Boy.”

“Seriously?” Prompto asked. “So she knows him?”

“Yup!” Aranea grinned. “I thought she was going to his party because she was in the press, but it turns out they were childhood friends. Take your time, but I also want to see you groveling to me when you get the chance.”

“So she knows him? Super well? Okay…” Prompto breathed in a sigh of relief. “Well I guess I can talk to her tomorrow.”

“If we can do this story well, with all these people in the folder, I think we can go to that birthday party of his.” Aranea then walked past Prompto who looked a bit more relieved. “Let’s go then, we can go over the stories about these people while I eat something. I am starving.”

***

Aranea and Prompto usually went to a local Kenny’s Diner that was open 24/7. They could order unlimited coffees for the long nights and if a story they were covering ended late, Kenny’s would always be there. Prompto usually got something “dead and deep fried” and Aranea usually got something “that would kill an ordinary man.” Prompto got the meat pie and Aranea got some ultra spicy cutlets and rice. Spread out on the table were their packets of papers in stacks of five. Each one representing the five couples Aranea wanted to document. She chewed on her food and pointed to the first stack.

“So this is the one love story we can check out tomorrow,” Aranea pointed to a dated photo and some blurry names. “Amadeo and Valeda. Valeda is blind and her husband is not. So we should start here since this is the one that would probably be the most helpful. They have 3 kids, all grown and in college. Perfect right?” Aranea posed with her fork and smirked at Prompto.

“They look cute,” Prompto grinned through a mouthful of food.

“They have been married for 25 years, if my math is right.” Aranea was absolutely content and Prompto felt grateful that she was going through all of this for him.

“I just don’t know how else to do this,” Prompto began slowly. “I mean, I don’t know what else to do you know? If this doesn’t work, then I would hate myself if I screwed this up.”

“Yeah,” Aranea began. “Look at it this way: At least he knows you exist. You will see him consistently and he did not let the dog chase you away.” Aranea grinned at him but Prompto frowned even more. She grabbed Prompto’s camera that was on the table and began to look through the pictures. Aranea looked through the viewfinder and stumbled upon the pictures from the groundbreaking from the day before. “Your Boy looks really attractive in these pictures, he must be hotter in person.

Prompto rolled his eyes but could feel a blush forming on his cheeks. “I mean…”

“You know,” Aranea began. “When Cindy and I started to date, I thought she was so perfect and beautiful. And she still is, duh. I am just saying, you think it is going to be perfect but stuff happens. Like our schedules are so wonky and I’d like to see her more often than I do. So it’ll be hard, is what I’m trying to say. Nothing ever works exactly like how you think it does, even when you can see color.”

“I know you are trying to make me feel better,” Prompto said quietly. “And I appreciate it, I really do. This is already more than enough help on your end, so I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“No need,” Aranea smiled softly. “You helped me with Cindy and getting me the job at the Times. So this is my long overdue thank you gift.”

Prompto grinned and remembered fondly when he met Aranea for the first time. It was during a famous celebrity trial case and she was working at a different paper that was more famous for the tabloid headlines than investigative journalism. They were probably the youngest people there and Aranea understood what “YOLO” meant. So they bonded instantly and laughed at how ridiculous the media attention was. They both worked non-stop and always shared tips with one another. After the case was over, Prompto had asked Luna if there were any positions open. “We need more women in here” was what Luna had told Prompto. So after that, they were partnered and practically inseparable.

“So tomorrow morning,” Aranea smiled. “Bright and early alright?”

“Sure thing,” Prompto smiled back.

***

Valeda was gardening in the front of her yard when Aranea and Prompto approached her. They were now in the Fortuna Suburbs that were just east of Insomnia. It was the ideal place to raise kids and have a nice house. So of course, Prompto thought it was too stuffy. He liked the city and the hustle and bustle of his workday. All the houses looked the same and it was... boring. However, Valeda, looked like the happiest woman on the block. She had her grey hair neatly pulled back into a nice bun. She had a black dandelion apron on, thick… yellow rubber boots and a wonderful smile while she worked.

“Good morning,” Aranea began. She had her recorder and notepad ready. “Valeda is it?”

“Yes,” Valeda replied. “Good morning. How may I help you?”

“Well,” Prompto began. “I’m Prompto Argentum and this is Aranea Highwind. We work for the Times. We want to do a piece on quirky love stories, and we were interested in doing a story with you and your husband.”

“Oh really,” Valeda replied. “Well, no one has ever asked about that.”

“We’re interested Ma’am,” Aranea replied. She turned to Prompto and whispered to him, “Umm Prompto… should we mention you?”

Prompto gulped and watched Valeda as she tilted her head in Prompto direction. He hesitated, because while this was work and they got the approval for it, he worried about the ulterior motive for this. The good part about his job is that, ultimately, he could leave the stories at work and come to his apartment and enjoy the rest of his life. However, now, being able to see everything had changed things. He felt more restricted than he did before, in a weird way.

“Ma’am,” Prompto began. “I… Us being here, for the Times is true. But, I am also here because I need help.”

“Help with what?” Valeda smiled.

Prompto gulped and tried to hold his nerve. “Well, I fell in love with someone who is blind. And I am scared that I already screwed it up. So, I just want to figure out how to do this correctly.”

Valeda’s smile did not waiver. She instead counted her steps and approached the fence to open the door. “Well, if my dummy husband can do it, I’m sure you will do fine.”

Prompto allowed himself to laugh. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Come on in, I just made some iced tea this morning.” Valeda grinned. Prompto could not stop grinning as he and Aranea followed her up the stoop and into her home.

***

Once Aranea and Prompto got settled and Valeda had sat down on the table with Aranea’s recorder ready to go. Prompto asked permission to photograph her and did so with as much grace as he could muster. She looked beautiful in the shots he had so far. Prompto had briefly read the color theory book last night and he had a lot of fun playing with the lighting in the kitchen. When Aranea asked where her husband was, Valeda replied that he should be back soon. He had gone out to do some chores. Once they were all settled on the kitchen table, Valeda began to talk at length about her love story.

“Amadeo and I met in high school. I had transfered in from another high school. The teachers at my old one thought I was dumb and couldn’t do anything. So my parents fought really hard so that I could go to a new one. So I was able to transfer and my husband says that he saw me walking down the hallway and he started to cry in front of the baseball team. They all made fun of him but I honestly thought that they were bullying him, from what I heard. Anyways, he approaches me during lunch. I was new and obviously different. My current best friend, Deanna, was helping me find everything. So she sat with me and helped me throughout the day. She told me this baseball player was approaching our table. He sat with us and asked for my name. I gave it to him. Then he said that he could see colors because of me, that I was his soulmate. And then, I laughed.”

“You laughed,” Aranea smiled. “Why?”

“Well,” Valeda grinned. “... I thought that it would not happen to me, in all honesty. You grow up knowing that this is the way that it is for everyone else. Except for you, I don’t get pleasure in seeing, I get it in feeling, hearing, or tasting. So young man…”

Prompto straightened up, pen out and ready to take his own notes.

“Your Soulmate,” Valeda began. “You will need to constantly talk to him. About everything and anything. He is going to fall in love with your personality and not your appearance. So the good thing is that I have had other people tell me my husband is attractive, so it must be true. I could care less about that kind of thing.”

“Right,” Prompto replied. He hoped he was attractive enough for Noctis, not being able to see him.

“You will need to be clear with him. That’s one thing that Amadeo and I struggled with at the beginning. He would get sad or I would get mad and it would have been so much simpler to say, ‘Are you mad at me?’ Be clear with him about what you want. You can’t frown at him and expect him to understand that you are mad.”

“Gotcha,” Prompto took the notes furiously.

“How was the dating at first?” Aranea interjected. She was as professional as ever.

“Well,” Valeda began. “After I laughed at him, I listened to what he had to say. He introduced himself. He said he wanted to get to know me better. And he said that he wanted me to go to his baseball game later that week if I could. I was floored because, _well_ , I can’t watch him play. So I thought he was a bit silly.”

The three of them laughed, but Valeda continued through their giggles.

“So I said that I would go,” Valeda continued. “Mind you, this is before the internet and cell phones. We had to call each other on land lines. I had to call him after 8 o’clock. And we’d talk for hours and hours. Even in person we just talked endlessly. I went to all of his games and only paid attention when they announced his name. If I heard the ball hit the bat, I cheered for him. It was fun. The more I got to know him, the more I fell in love. I got to fall in love with his personality, first and foremost. But I also think that seeing color thing is only one part of it.”

“What do you mean?” asked Aranea.

“This does not apply to seeing people, if it does... I wouldn't know. But I love the way Amadeo’s voice sounds. Not only that, but I love the way he holds my hand and I love the way he smells. It’s silly but, he used this nice cologne that works well for him. So that might be something else that you keep in mind Mr. Prompto.”

Prompto laughed and nodded but quickly answered back. “Yes, of course.”

“Have you told them yet?” Valeda asked. “You should probably tell them sooner rather than later. You don’t want him in a dicey relationship. It is still dicey right? I don’t know what you kids call it nowadays.”

“It’s still dicey,” laughed Aranea. She looked towards Prompto, who sighed.

“Well,” Prompto began. “I haven’t told him yet. I’ve met him, but I don’t know if he’ll believe me. Apparently, some girl tricked him in law school that she was the soulmate. But that wasn’t true.”

“Oh no!” Valeda frowned. “That’s so sad, I hate when people that do that. The worst is when you cheat on your soulmate, that is unfortunate.”

“I know,” Aranea said in a sad tone. “Prompto and I were talking about it last night.”

“Well, Valeda sighed. “I think what you should do, is the next time you meet this boy, make sure that you state that you are his soulmate. Make sure that you talk a lot with him and make sure that you are clear. After that, the rest should be good.” Valeda smiled but Prompto still was not sure if he should tell Noctis about all of this.

“I will do my best,” Prompto began. “But talking to you has made me feel a lot better about things.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Valeda began.

Aranea continued to question Valeda and Prompto half paid attention to her words and the other half of the time, he wondered what he should do next. After some time, Amadeo came home. Prompto and Aranea introduced themselves to a delighted Amadeo. Prompto could see why they were such a good match. Amadeo, was a man of few words but was blunt. It contrasted with Valeda’s personality. So it was easy to see how their dynamic was so in sync at this point. Amadeo would laugh at her jokes and Valeda would keep them coming along. Prompto was happy for them and happily took more shots of the couple and he thought he had some great shots.

Once they had left the house and started walking back to the train station, Aranea had done most of the talking. She was going on and on about how happy they looked. Prompto saw a future just like that or something like it. Making jokes while Noctis laughed at him. He hoped that would be in his future.

“Eos to Prompto,” Aranea sighed. “Do you feel a bit better?”

“Yeah,” Prompto lied. “Well…”

“Nervous?” Aranea asked.

“Yes,” Prompto scratched the back of his head and frowned. “They at least went to high school together.”

“So?” Aranea snapped. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Well,” Prompto began. “What I’m saying is, no one tried to trick Valeda. So I am just worried Noctis is going to think I’m some weirdo when I talk to him again. And if I say, ‘Hey guess what I’m your soulmate,’ what then?”

Aranea frowned. “I think you are overthinking it.”

“I think so too,” Prompto covered his face and slowly dragged his hands down. “I’m just nervous.”

“Look,” Aranea began. “At least you kind of know what to do. It’ll be fine, you’ll just naturally talk to him. He’ll come around and you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Prompto tried to be more optimistic but it was hard. Noctis, by all accounts, was not from his side of what Eos was to him. Noctis went to the fancy prep schools, the good private college and had things that Prompto did not have growing up. So it made him worry if he was good enough for Noctis. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all you can do,” Aranea sighed. “Now let’s go interview the next couple on our list.” Aranea showed Prompto another file as they made their way down to the stairs of the train station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when I will update next because I have a busy week of work ahead. But I will try and update at least twice a week at he minimum. This chapter was also interesting because I have a childhood friend that is blind and she helped me with a lot of the dialogue from Valeda's POV.
> 
> As always, thanks a bunch!


	4. Here Comes the Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the friends are rooting for the Soulmates...

“Good morning,” Prompto said cheerfully. He was carrying three grande-sized coffees. Luna’s usual order was some milk and three sugars, usually Prompto also got something similar but today he was feeling adventurous. Aranea’s was an americano with two sugars and that cup was saved in the cup holder that Prompto waved at his boss. Luna eyed him cheerfully, but she looked tired.

“There is coffee!” Lunafreya nodded while making her way to grab her drink. “Which means…”

“I have something to ask you,” Prompto said nervously. He tried to subtly shut the door behind him, but the creak of the door sounded louder than it should have been. “I’m not trying to bribe you or anything.”

“Hmm,” Lunafreya answered. She sipped a bit of her coffee but tilted her head so that Prompto could get the cue to sit down in one of the chairs. “What can I do for you Prompto?”

“Well,” Prompto began. “It’s kind of a long story. So I’ll start with the good news: I found my soulmate.”

Luna’s face immediately brightened up. “Really?” she replied. “That’s amazing! I am so glad that happened for you. It’s so nice when you don’t have to worry about that, isn’t it?”

Prompto nodded. “Yeah, it is great but I have a problem. And I think you can help me…”

Luna looked confused and continued to sip on her coffee. She nodded and urged Prompto to keep talking with a wave of her hand.

“So,” Prompto breathed. “The soulmate… It’s Noctis… the son of that guy that owns that big company.”

Luna immediately stopped drinking her coffee and eyed Prompto as though he grew another head. She gaped at him while Prompto pursed his lips and nodded slowly.

“You are kidding me?” Luna said finally.

“Nope.”

“So,” Lunafreya looked up and blinked hard while she thought of what to say. “Your soulmate, is my childhood friend? Who… cannot see you…. Wow…”

“This sucks!” Prompto said with utmost sincerity. “I have no idea what to do. I signed up for a damn ceramics class at the place he volunteers at so that I can talk to him.”

“You’ve talked to him?” Lunafreya laughed softly. “That’s good at least. So he does not know?”

“Nope,” Prompto frowned. “I am so mad at myself. I’m better than this… probably…”

Lunafreya’s laugh got louder, but she looked at Prompto with pity. “If you want, I am going to his birthday party—"

“—Me and Aranea know when that is,” Prompto began. “That’s why I brought you coffee.”

“You don’t have to bribe me with this,” Lunafreya shook her head. “Of course I’d take you. Besides, it is good that you and Noctis are soulmates.” Luna had a genuine smile on her face. “I’ll help you, absolutely. Besides, if this means that you will take better pictures and do better work, that would also be a great bonus.”

“Thank you,” Prompto grinned. He took a deep breath and finally drank his own coffee. He finally decided on a mocha latte, which tasted even better than he was expecting it to.

“So,” Lunafreya smiled. “A ceramics class? You? You have a cleaner desk than mine, and you want to do ceramics?”

“It was the only one they had open!” Prompto whined. “Besides, I didn’t know what else to do. Do I bring the guy flowers and tell him I’m his soulmate. Do I send him a note? Do I write an e-mail to the Caleum Company. I literally have _no idea_ what to do. I have been so stressed out over this. I slept maybe 4 hours last night and 5 the night before. I feel like I am going crazy.”

“Oh Prompto,” Lunafreya replied. “Do not worry. Besides, I believe that it will work out fine. I’m just surprised he talked to you just fine when you met him. He usually hates small talk.”

At this new kernel of knowledge, Prompto stopped and thought about it longer. Noctis did seem like he wanted to get out of their conversation, at first, but it continued. This made Prompto sigh with relief but he still felt unbelievably nervous.

“Well,” Prompto began. “I don’t know, I was actually pretty shy as a kid. So it makes me nervous to talk to anyone that I have to talk to. Aranea does all the talking when we go out to work. Plus, Noctis is… very attractive. Please don’t tell Aranea I said that.”

Lunafreya, in Prompto’s memory, had maybe laughed loudly and openly once or twice. Here she was, laughing genuinely, and Prompto joined in shortly afterwards. Prompto took a breath but noticed some of their co-workers eying them suspiciously from the visible glass windows the lined Luna's office

“Thank you Lunafre—“

"Just call me Luna,” Luna said in a huff while wiping her tears. “You are going to be like family soon. So you might as well get used to calling me Luna.”

  
“So,” Prompto began, finally settling down. “You’re close with him? How close?”

Luna eyed Prompto and continued to drink her coffee. She had a genuine smile on her face and tipped her head back, as though she was trying to remember something.

“He is a close friend,” Luna said finally. “I met him after the incident in the park. I was the student helper that guided him once he recovered and came back to school. The teachers agreed I was the best one for the job. So I helped him get to the cafeteria, the library, the parking lot when he was picked up. We talked for a long time about things. When I was not there, he was very lonely. I think there was a lot on his mind. Anyways, we always kept in touch, even when I went to middle school and he stayed in elementary. We reconnected more in high school. He seemed like he finally was able to manage everything just fine, but I heard he did not have a lot of friends. Just Ignis really, but he seemed happier to me. He still invites me to events, which is great for me, because of the scoops for stories. I am just glad, that it is you Prompto. I think he… and you… you’ll both be good. Finding that person is good…”

Luna had a dreamy look on her face but Prompto knew about who that person was for her…

“How is Nyx,” Prompto grinned. Luna turned her face to look at Prompto incredulously. “Is he still in HR?”

“T-that is,” Luna stammered. “None of your business. We have to be _professional_ at work.”

“I haven’t told anyone,” Prompto said in a hushed voice. “Besides, you two, that last time, should have kept the door closed and—"

“Stop,” Luna said with anger. “Go back to work. Don’t mention that to anyone.”

“Okay okay,” Prompto took the cup holder with Aranea’s drink. Before he shut the door, Luna watched him with narrowing eyes. “I won’t tell!”

“Hmm,” was the only response Luna gave. As Prompto shut the door, he did a silent fist bump to the air and was relieved that his boss was the best.

***

Within the remaining few days before Prompto knew he would see Noctis again, he took a few steps to make sure that he was ready. He made sure to renew his prescription for his glasses, get a physical at his doctor and see the dentist. These little acts of self-improvement quelled the doubts that came up when he thought about Noctis. Additionally, he started to run again. He would wake up at 6 o’clock and head out bright and early to run through the streets of Insomnia. The city was even busy during that time, so Prompto made sure to pay attention to his surroundings. It was hard though, everything he had thought about was Noctis. He wanted to make the best impression that he could.

He took a break walking through the Futura district and he then started to notice the many signs that advertised that man, Izunia. His name was on billboards, in bus bench ads and on some bus signs. After he was rounded another corner he made a mental note to remember that and continued to run across the street towards the park. He nodded to other runners and was proud of himself for not being as out of shape as he thought he was. Prompto made a mental note to make sure that he had everything ready for Wednesday: He bought a new outfit and Aranea found him a cologne. In her own words, “This won’t kill a small animal with the musk.” He took that as a good sign. Prompto also made sure to pick up a book on braille signs so that he could at least begin to learn what each character meant. So far, he was barely trying to learn the alphabet but he figured that it would take some time.

Prompto continued to run until he ended up back at his current neighborhood of the Boroughs. It was already 40 minutes and he thought he had done enough. Aranea’s text message jingle vibrated on his arm. He noticed that she mentioned something about some new business deal that was buzzing in the business market. Prompto figured it had something to do with all of those signs he witnessed this morning and headed back to his apartment quickly to shower. This had the makings of a busy day.

***

“I cannot believe they are going to do that,” Luna was in the newsroom with the 24-hour news programs going. A new business venture for the Caleum company was announced and Prompto did not understand what the big deal was. Aranea explained it to him and such a deal was never done before between the countries of Nifelheim and Lucius. There could be a lot of political implications for it but Prompto took in half of everything in. It was not that he did not understand what was going on, it was just that he wanted to know how he would photograph all of this. Was there going to be a press conference? How could they explain the story in a way that could be simple and informative without bias? What would this mean for the future? He had to keep these things in mind while they headed towards the downtown headquarters of the Caleum Company.

“Just keep focused until tonight alright Prompto?” Aranea grinned as they grabbed a ride-share towards Downtown. “Then you can begin your Casanova...ing.”

“Look,” Prompto began. “I vaguely remember a plucky and younger reporter that also bought better clothes and a nicer coat for winter when she met her soulmate..."

Aranea gave Prompto a look that made him stop talking. He grinned through it while drinking his second cup of coffee.  Aranea laughed, in spite of herself. “Look Blondie,” Aranea began. “Just be yourself, tell him who you are… and you should be good.”

“I know!” Prompto sighed. “I just want to make a good first impression.”

“You will,” Aranea began. “Then tomorrow we can finish that quirky love story bit if this thing isn’t too crazy.”

“Right,” Prompto began. He checked the settings on his camera and made sure that he brought the right lense to shoot with. He had to push aside the nerves for now.

***

Prompto might have overplanned going to the adult school early. He did not sleep well the night before but tried his best to drink enough coffee to compensate for that. Unfortunately, the afternoons were the end of his coffee high. Prompto waited instead on one of the nearby benches and took some pictures when the right moments came up. There was a moment between a mother and her child waiting by the registration window that Prompto managed to capture really well. Twenty minutes later, he noticed a bird resting on top of the building and managed to get a good shot before it took off. Lastly, he was able to take a picture of a moment between a couple that had their backs to him before they laughed. Aranea had already told him that he should try and put his photos in an exhibit or a show someday but Prompto refused. He was still getting used to being able to see everything, but hopefully down the line he would be ready.

With the camera in his hand, Prompto checked the shots he had taken earlier today and looked carefully at the ones to submit to Aranea for their quirky love story bit for tomorrow. He was proud of these ones but he still felt like he should play around with the contrast and lighting more. Those things still were not as natural as before. Someone else sat on the bench with him but he continued to go through his photos, tabbing faves on the numbered pictures so that they’d be easier to find tomorrow.

“You smell different this week.”

“What?” Prompto looked to his left and gasped slightly. There was Noctis and he was patting Umbra while he held a folder filled with pages and pages of braille music sheets. Noctis was not looking at him but had an ear turned towards Prompto.

“So which class did you sign up for?” Noctis asked, grinning widely.

“Umm,” Prompto stammered. He was not expecting this but Prompto took a deep breath and was ready. “Not yours… obviously. I’m going to do ceramics.”

“That’s too bad,” Noctis replied.

“I am kinda creeped out that you know what I smell like…” Prompto laughed but Noctis moved his head with an obvious frown on his face. Noctis was still wearing his sunglasses but he tilted his head away, almost bashfully. At least, that was the impression Prompto got.

“I-I can’t tell w-what you look like,” Noctis stammered. “So... _I_ have to find other ways to recognize people.”

“So how do I smell like?” Prompto teased. Noctis coughed which only caused Prompto to giggle even more. It was then, that Prompto heard Umbra’s bark and he stopped laughing.

“Like,” Noctis shook his head but he did not come up with an answer. “A person.”

“What a stupid answer,” Prompto shot back but he laughed again when he heard Noctis scowl beside him. Prompto knew he was being a hypocrite because he was signing up for a class just to see Noctis but it comforted him to know Noctis was also a bit weird like he was.

“It is not a stupid answer,” Noctis replied. “I don’t know, but you smell different. Umbra already knows you, she led me to the bench. I like to sit on empty benches before class. So…”

“Your dog,” Prompto began. “Is encouraging you to be more social.”

“I guess so,” Noctis said in a bemused tone. “It’s not just that. I was talking to one of my friends, she says she is your boss.”

“Oh Luna,” Prompto gulped. “Yeah, she is a wonderful boss. The best boss… In fact, I bought her a mug that says ‘World’s Best Boss.’ She liked it.”

Noctis grinned and sighed. “You sound like the type to do something like that.”

“Well,” Prompto said. “It seemed like something nice to give her. She was really nice to hire me even though I had almost no work experience.”

“She was telling me,” Noctis began. “That I should talk to you more. I can’t understand why though. She knows I don’t like talking to people. Even though I am blind, I can hear people talking about me and I don’t like it. So I just do my own thing.”

“Yeah,” Prompto replied. “That’s why I like taking pictures. I can go at my own pace. Except at work. But otherwise, I can just take pictures of whatever I want.”

“That sounds relaxing,” Noctis replied.

Prompto stopped himself from saying something stupid such as: I wish you could see these pictures. So instead he allowed them to sit in silence. It allowed him to build up his courage. He was not sure how to start that conversation or if Noctis would even be able to be open to it now. But he had to tell him.

“Wait,” Noctis felt his wrist and Prompto heard an alarm. “I am late for my class.”

“And I’m late for mine,” Prompto stood up but was in no hurry, he was just disappointed. Noctis did not seem in too much of a hurry either. Prompto watched as he got up slowly with the kind of grace that Prompto knew he could never possess. Noctis walked on, with Umbra by his side, and looked happy to be heading in. Prompto walked alongside Noctis and into the adult school campus.

“Those guys I told you about,” Noctis began. “Gladio and Ignis, they are getting married.”

“Really?” Prompto yelled. Noctis recoiled a bit so Prompto lowered his tone of voice right away. “Did this just happen?”

“Yeah,” Noctis smiled. “It was nice. Both of their families were there yesterday and it was nice. Luna gave me the play by play.”

“Oh really?” Prompto asked. He walked ahead slightly to open the door for Noctis. Prompto thought Noctis looked annoyed briefly, but he hid that right away as they both walked into the building.

“Yeah,” Noctis said simply. “I was going to take them for drinks after I was done here. It’s my only free night this week. I have two midterms next week. Business law and immigration law.”

“That sounds like fun,” Prompto said sarcastically.

“Tons,” Noctis sighed.

“If you want,” Prompto began. “My friend Cindy, she owns a bar. She is really nice and it is cool. You can tell the fiancés to meet us there.”

Noctis and Prompto approached their classrooms and Prompto noted the silence between them. He screwed up and this was the end—

“Sure,” Noctis said finally. “I’ll call them after this class is over.”

“Great,” Prompto exclaimed cheerfully. All Prompto could think about was that he did not want to go to class and he had to tell Noctis. But they were both late and Prompto still had to walk down another hallway to reach his class. They both waited, until Prompto spoke again. “I’ll just meet you here and we can walk to the bar.”

“Sounds good,” Noctis smiled. Umbra barked softly and Noctis reached for the door and waved near Prompto’s direction. Prompto had to watch until Noctis went completely into his classroom before he began to move towards his own. It could not go on like this. Prompto had to tell him tonight, and hopefully some liquid courage would help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect another update this weekend! I am also playing Breath of the Wild and HOLY SHIT! What a beautiful game! Good things are coming to the Boys soon(ish), I promise.
> 
> Thank you for the comments and Kudos as always! ❤️


	5. Chanel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chocobros pour it up!

Prompto did not know how he felt about Ceramics. The class was already in the middle of doing a lesson on pottery and he did his best to try and catch up with what was presented. There were these two sisters, that were already retired, helping him catch up. They helped him figure out just what “throwing pottery” entailed. Prompto just nodded and tried to follow along.

By the end of it, the two sisters were excited for what he was able to do and Prompto kept thanking them profusely for their help. As soon as the teacher, a very new-wave looking dude with thick glasses, dismissed the class, Prompto felt his adrenaline push past his lack of sleep. He half-ran and half-sprinted back to the classroom where Noctis would be teaching. There were a few students trickling out and Prompto waited until they were all gone before daring to look through the window. Noctis was there sitting and giving Umbra a treat that he had stored in his jacket. Prompto sighed deeply and gassed himself up. He could _totally_ do this.

When Prompto opened the door, the sound of it was louder than he had anticipated. Noctis immediately turned around but he did not look upset. He smiled lightly while Umbra waved his tail at the sight of Prompto.

“Hello,” Prompto spoke first. “It wasn’t as messy as I thought it would be.” It was true. Prompto was given this huge apron and he was grateful that when he did screw up, clay did not go anywhere near his new outfit.

“That’s good,” Noctis stood up and began to walk towards the door. “You have to tell me where this bar is. So I can tell Ignis and Gladio to meet us there.”

“Sure,” Prompto began. Noctis had a phone but instead of the usual lock screen, Prompto saw that there was a speech-to-text function that was present as the lock-screen mode. “It’s on 31st street near the Park.”

Noctis hummed in response and spoke into the phone so that Ignis would get the directions. They were walking in silence like before but Prompto did not want that to be the precursor for the rest of the night.

“How was your class?” Prompto finally asked.

“It was fine,” Noctis replied. “It is a beginner’s class so I can’t do the really cool Beethoveny stuff.”

“So you used to do recitals?” Prompto asked. Noctis hummed as a response but smiled lightly.

“I used to,” Noctis said thoughtfully. “But I stopped for a while. Then I got back into doing them in middle school.”

“Oh,” Prompto remembered Luna’s anecdote with her time with Noctis as a child and decided to switch the topic. “Well, _I_ never did recitals or anything like that. Hmm, I can’t remember what I did as a kid.”

Noctis hummed as a response and Umbra stopped walking. If Prompto had not noticed, he probably would have walked into the glass doors. He repeated what he did before earlier and opened the door for Noctis as they left the building. Prompto watched Noctis and there was no annoyed look on his face from earlier.

“So your friend owns a bar?” Noctis asked. “And your other friend is a reporter too?”

“Yeah,” Prompto said sheepishly. “Aranea and I are basically Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen except none of us are getting rescued by Superman daily. We don’t even have a hot and burly guy in our newsroom. But yeah…” Prompto watched Noctis’ grin form wider and wider on his face. It was a recent dream of his, but Prompto thought it would be nice if he never got tired of seeing Noctis smiling.

“I can’t fly either,” Noctis smiled. “So I guess you’re out of luck.”

“I guess so,” Prompto replied back.

***

Prompto recognized the silhouettes of Gladio and Ignis on the corner of the street. There was a car with the emergency lights flashing that was next to them. Once Prompto was able to approach them, he realized how tall they actually were. He also was able to notice their engagement bands and his heart swelled at the idea that Noctis’ closest friends were so happy and in love with one another.

“Hi,” Prompto held out his hand to Gladio (who Noctis called, “The _Really_ big guy”). “I’m Prompto, we met before but…” Prompto stopped talking dead in his tracks when he was met with Gladio’s intense grip. “... we can arm wrestle later tough guy.” When Gladio finally let go, Prompto waved his hand repeatedly but immediately turned to Ignis who gave his fiancé an indignant look.

“We meet again,” Ignis said cooly. “Noctis told us that you were his new friend from his volunteering."

Prompto felt flattered but was taken out of the moment by a female voice coming from the car.

“They are going to ticket me!” Prompto observed a soft-looking young woman that looked about college-aged opening the door. Umbra very slowly got into the car while Gladio shut the door.

“Relax Iris,” Gladio winked at her. “Thanks for being our DD.”

“Look,” Iris waved a finger at Gladio. “If this is what I have to do to be your best man, then I’ll take it. But seriously, don’t get too crazy. I don’t want to drive four drunk guys home in this car. And no midnight snacks either.”

Ignis laughed softly as did Noctis. “She’s Gladio’s younger sister,” Noctis said in Prompto’s direction. Prompto nodded but then corrected himself by saying “yeah.”

“But that’s the best part,” Gladio huffed.

“Only if you guys aren’t too crazy,” Iris stuck her tongue out at them. “Just call or text me when you’re done.” Gladio raised himself up and tapped on the roof of the car and watched Iris as she drove back onto the street. He turned around and eyed Prompto with skepticism.

“So,” Gladio began. “You look like a lightweight.”

Prompto rolled his eyes but Gladio was probably right. He did not have the biggest lunch and he had not been sleeping well. So, if nothing else, he could stop at maybe two drinks and still try and tell Noctis what his real deal was without making a complete idiot out of himself.

“I’ll outdrink anyone,” Prompto taunted. “Even someone that weighs twice as much as me in one bicep.”

Ignis and Noctis laughed even more while Gladio scowled but opened the door for them to come into the bar. Ignis was about to extend an arm for Noctis to grab onto, but Noctis was closer to Prompto. Noctis put his hand on Prompto’s shoulder and leaned in closer to Prompto before they went in. “Lead the way lightweight.”

Prompto was suddenly grateful that at least Gladio, Ignis and Noctis could not see him and his very obvious blushing.

***

It was around pitcher number two that Prompto suddenly felt even more flushed that he had before. Every time Gladio made any sort of comment at him, he laughed and clapped his hands. Noctis had a permanent smile on his face and Ignis kept repeatedly cleaning his glasses. They had gotten a booth in the corner. Gladio and Ignis had told Prompto how they had met and what had happened afterwards. They were at some soccer game for Insomnia University, the very first match of the season during their freshman year. Ignis was on the soccer team and Gladio, a member of the football team. Apparently, Gladio was on the field to support one of his teammates that was also on the soccer team.

“Once I saw Iggy, I knew it was him,” Gladio took another sip out of his beer and Prompto continued to grin at them all. “He had these stupid sporty looking glasses on and he stared at me even though he should have been playing.”

Iggy sipped his beer and shook his head. “That is not true, I was _completely_ focused.”

“He was focused on these guns,” Gladio pointed at one arm and Noctis continued to laugh and drink even more. “I was just relieved that I found him when I did, I was starting to think my soulmate was just not going to be there at all.”

“So can I call you guys,” Prompto giggled. “The dumb jock Soulmates.”

“Who are you calling dumb?” Gladio half-yelled. Ignis hummed and continued to drink. Prompto turned around put his knees on the booth seat to get a better view. He scanned the bar for Cindy. She was serving another table but caught Prompto’s eye immediately. Cindy nodded and hurried back to the bar to get another pitcher ready for them. When that was taken care of, he sat back down, but felt woozy already.

“Ignis, can I call you Iggy?” Prompto asked while grinning. “I don’t want to feel left out.”

“I think you should,” Noctis chimed in. “Even if he says no.”

“You can,” Ignis said cooly. “But only if you and Gladio finish the next pitcher by yourselves.”

“But I still want to drink so more,” Noctis whined. “I’ll join you two. Ignis can relax.”

“Why don’t you want to drink anymore?” Prompto asked Ignis.

“Well,” Gladio began. He burped loudly, which earned another unamused stare from Ignis. “Iggy once drank six AMFs in one sitting. He had no idea what they were. And I think that scarred him for life.”

“That’s an incident I do not wish to repeat,” Ignis said thoughtfully. Well, at least Prompto thought he said it with some intense thought behind it. “I ended up on Gladio’s couch with a tie on my head and no underwear and some type of wax on my stomach?”

At this, Noctis roared with laughter and so did Gladio. Prompto laughed alongside them and imagined the mental image of that. Ignis seemed to be the most responsible one out of the four of them, and he could not imagine how that would have happened.

“I ended up in the tub,” Gladio began. "I don’t know what exactly happened and I don’t really want to ever know. That was a weird night.”

“Noctis was with us,” Ignis began. “We all went to the same college. But Noctis left early that night, so he missed the, quote en quote, ‘Good Part.’” Ignis even did the air quotes with his hands in Prompto's direction.

“Any crazy college stories Prompto?” Noctis asked while shoving an elbow in Prompto’s arm. Just as Prompto was thinking about the time he got drunk off a forty ounce and tried to “tip” some sleeping garulas at night, Cindy appeared with one more pitcher.

“How are y’all doin’?” Cindy asked cheerfully. She took away their empty pitchers and waited for a response.

After the general mumbles of “fine” and “okay” by all four of them, Cindy looked at Prompto, but she looked very much annoyed. “Stud, come and help me out for a second, will ya’?”

Prompto thought that task was a little bit too difficult at the moment, but he managed to snake his way out of the booth. He followed very gingerly behind her.

“What’re you afraid of?” Cindy asked while Prompto followed her with every ounce of concentration he could muster. “I thought you were gonna tell him after pitcher one?”

“I was,” Prompto sighed. He also burped for good measure. “But then, I started talking with the guys and they are so friendly. So I kinda… forgot… hey you are walking _too_ fast.”

“I’m walkin’ normally Stud,” Cindy half-shouted. “You’re really drunk. But I still think you should tell him ASAP. He’s much handsomer in person.”

“I can’t tell him,” Prompto whined. “I feel like…” Prompto closed his eyes and stopped walking. He still felt fine, but he felt Cindy turn him around and helping him walk back to the booth.

“Just tell him super fast,” Cindy offered. “I’ll linger in the back to help ya.”

“Okay okay,” Prompto began. He took a deep breath and went back to the booth. Noctis was the only one there but he titled his head in Prompto’s direction when he heard steps approaching the booth. “Hey Noctis.”

“Hey,” Noctis waved his hand and Prompto sat back down next to his happy and drunk Soulmate. “They went to the restroom.” Noctis waved his hand towards the empty booth that had Gladio and Ignis.

“Oh okay,” Prompto began nervously. He turned around to look at Cindy, who patted his shoulders. “Umm, Noctis, I… I need to tell you something.”

At this, Noctis stopped drinking his pint of beer and inched closer towards Prompto. He had to hold his nerve now, there was no way that he was going to back out of this now. He was literally cornered in by his Soulmate and one of his best friends. Cindy, with the kind of grace only she had, massaged either side of Prompto’s shoulders.

“It’s okay,” Cindy said encouragingly. “Just tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Noctis asked, utterly confused.

Prompto gulped and took a deep breath.

“ThethingisthatIamyourSoulmateandIamsorryIdidn’ttellyou.” Prompto buried his face in his hands and Cindy gripped his shoulders harshly. Vaguely, Prompto heard someone in the next booth ask Cindy for a refill.

“I will in a second,” Cindy said breathlessly. “My friend needs some support right now. The cranberry vodka right?” There was a pause... “Sure thing, just hang on a second.”

“What?” Noctis asked. “You said that kind of fast…”

Prompto lowered his hands and took a deep breath. Now, Prompto noticed Ignis and Gladio coming back from the restroom hand in hand.

“Noct,” Prompto tried to speak slowly. “I… I’m your… s-soulmate…”

Noctis bowed his head and focused his face in Prompto's direction. He did not say anything, even when Gladio and Ignis sat back down in their seats from earlier. They sensed that something had changed between Prompto and Noctis. The laughter from earlier was gone and the tone was now palpable and tense.

“But,” Noctis finally said. “You said… you saw in black and white still?”

“I lied,” Prompto said quietly. “I’m really sorry, I panicked… it’s not a good excuse but I did.”

“What’s going on?” Gladio asked. No one moved or answered him.

“I’m sorry,” Prompto repeated. “I’m really sorry but I got scared… I saw you a-at that groundbreaking that I had to work and then I could see everything. Then you left and I couldn’t tell you and I didn’t know how to talk to—”

Noctis turned to look at Gladio and Ignis. “So… umm…” He made sure to have his body in the direction of Gladio and Ignis. “I think we’re done for the night.”

“Look,” Prompto began quickly. “I’m not lying, it’s you!”

“Noct,” Ignis looked at Prompto then back at Noctis. “What happened?”

“Prompto is Noctis’ Soulmate,” Cindy said matter-of-factly. “And do I have to start a tab under someone’s name? I have other tables to serve. Good luck Stud!” Cindy let go of Prompto’s shoulders, but now Prompto felt thoroughly outnumbered by all three of them. Gladio and Ignis were now staring at Prompto and looked dumbfounded.

“I haven’t slept,” Prompto tried to keep calm. “And I feel like such an idiot, but I had to tell you tonight. I’m sorry, but it’s not a trick… I just don’t know how to prove this to you…”

Gladio took out his phone. “We’ll call Iris to pick us up.”

Ignis looked at Gladio then back at Prompto. “Noct, we’ll call you when the car is here. But you two should probably talk alone for now.”

“Right,” Noctis began nervously. “Okay… I’ll be there soon.”

As they left, Prompto noticed the Aranea was at the bar and waiting for Cindy to give her the usual. He also had enough presence of mind to catch Ignis’ eye before the two of them left. Ignis nodded encouragingly at Prompto as he and Gladio left. When they finally left, he caught Aranea’s eye, who looked hopeful for a moment, but then she looked sadly at Prompto. Even she knew this was not going well from 30 feet away. Prompto looked back at Noctis and could not get a read on him now. Instead Prompto tried to not move until Noctis did.

“The last time this happened,” Noctis began. “I got lied to and hurt pretty badly.”

“Well,” Prompto began. “I’m not lying, it’s you.” Prompto felt a tiny bit of relief to finally say that phrase to Noctis.

“I don’t know what to think,” Noctis said softly. “I mean, I didn’t think… I don’t know, I guess it makes sense.”

“I’m a very charming person,” Prompto dared to say. He smiled stupidly at his own demeanor. He would make a stupid joke now, totally drunk and out of it to his Soulmate.

Noctis smiled softly. “I want to sleep on it, I think. Plus we are both not sober…”

“You’re right,” Prompto smiled. “Sorry again, but I had to tell you and I know this is the _worst_ way to do this.”

“It’s okay,” Noctis said. “Hey I don’t have your number…” Noctis got his phone out and so did Prompto. “My schedule is kind of all over the place. But we should get some coffee or something tomorrow.”

“I have to work tomorrow,” Prompto began. “Usually the nights are good for me, unless some big story happens, then I usually get weird hours for that.” Prompto shook his head. “You know what, just call me.”

Noctis laughed but spoke the number that Prompto told him into the phone. Prompto did the same and looked at the direction of Aranea. She was watching eagerly at the booth but did a sigh of relief when Prompto gave her the thumbs up.

“Do you want me to help you go outside Noctis?” Prompto asked.

"Call me Noct," Noctis smirked but in the next second, he shook his head. “Naw, the lovebirds are probably outside making out. They get _so weird_ when they get drunk. I swear, they think I don’t notice them doing it. I’m blind not stupid.”

Prompto and Noctis laughed but they inched closer to one another.

“How tall are you?” Noctis asked.

“Like, 5’8”? I haven’t checked in a while.”

“I’m 5’9”,” Noctis grinned. “How do you look like?”

“Like a person,” Prompto laughed. He heard Noctis laugh but he sounded annoyed. “Why do you want to know?”

“I’ll ask Gladio and Ignis if you're hot,” Noctis began. “Since _you_ won’t tell me.”

“Yeah,” Prompto began. “Sucks for you.”

Noctis smiled but at that moment, his phone began to ring loudly and vibrated heavily on the table. That was his queue to go, but Prompto thought he had changed his mind a little.

“I should go,” Noctis began.

“Then go,” Prompto answered.

“I need help to get out,” Noctis sighed.

“Okay,” Prompto exited the booth but Cindy approached the two of them as they began to make their way towards the exit.

“I love y’all,” Cindy began. “But who is paying for the booze?”

“Me,” Noctis answered. He reached back for his wallet and felt the top of edge slowly, pulling out one card for Cindy to take. “Thanks for the drinks, leave a nice tip for yourself.”

“Thank you,” Cindy hurried back to the nearest register. In the meantime, Prompto helped Noctis come out of the booth.

“So,” Aranea’s voice came from behind the two of them. “Is everything okay?”

“I guess,” Noctis began. Noctis managed to wrap his arm around Prompto’s own. “He says he’s charming but, I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

Aranea laughed, “Well… he is a goofy idiot sometimes. But he is kind of charming. I’m Aranea, I’m Blondie’s co-worker and best friend.”

“So you’re Blonde,” Noctis shook his head. “ _Oh great…_ ”

“What’s wrong with Blondes?” Prompto whined.

“Nothing,” Noctis smirked. Cindy finally appeared and handed Noctis’ card back to him.

“Thank you,” Cindy smiled widely. I hope to see you and your friends soon. You’re welcome to come in any time.”

“Thanks,” Noctis replied. “I’m making them wait, but I’ll see all of you later.”

After waving towards Aranea and Cindy, Prompto helped Noctis towards the door. From his vantage point, Prompto could see Iris annoyingly waiting in the car with the emergency lights on. He felt guilty about it, but Prompto wanted Noctis to stay a bit longer with him.

“I’ll text you when I get back,” Noctis said when they finally reached the outside sidewalk. “It’s a lot quieter out here.”

“Yeah,” Prompto said quietly. He sighed but continued to lead Noctis towards the car. Iris noticed the two of them and grinned widely at the sight of them. The front door opened, and she did a small yell of excitement.

“That’s so great Noct,” Iris yelled loudly. “You got a hot guy too!”

“See,” Prompto huffed. “I’m _hot._ ”

Noctis groaned but got into the car with little help from Prompto. He was not sober enough to make any more remarks at Gladio and Ignis. They were in the backseat and waving politely at him.

“Text me later,” Prompto said.

“I will,” Noctis said with a smile.

After the door closed, Prompto sighed and thought it could have gone much worse. He waved at the car as it drove away, but he felt silly for doing so. He hoped tonight, he’d be able to sleep better. At least Noctis finally knew and he could call him. Aranea told Prompto the hardest part was always what came afterwards, not the discovery of the Soulmate. "You still have to make it work," Aranea would say. Prompto could safely say, at this moment, he was willing to do whatever it took to make it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was all fun and games then it wasn't huh? Haha, also I listened to Frank Ocean's brand new song and it is such a night on the town Prompto song that it was fate that I had to name this chapter after Chanel. Hopefully I can update sooner rather than later for the rest of the week. 
> 
> Thanks everyone!


	6. Fools In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Soulmates plan on a date...

The echo of the car door slamming shut, meant that they were now moving. There was an audible dip of a leather seat in the back, probably Ignis and Gladio adjusting from the seat belts being put on. Noctis was right, as the two clicks came in succession. He tilted his head to the right where the window was located and heard the whirl of the nightlife buzz right by him. It was hard to ignore his friends, the inside of the car was buzzing as well. 

“So,” Ignis began. “At least he _has_ a job.”

“He has a job?” Gladio asked.

“He works for the Times,” Iris said brightly. “Remember? Noctis was telling us at dinner yesterday.”

“Oh right,” Gladio drawled. “He seems nice. At least he’ll be a cheap date for you Noctis.”

Noctis hummed but did not give an answer. He was still not entirely sober but he would remember this in the morning. His Soulmate was _that_ guy from the adult school. It all started to make sense: why they could talk to each other so easily, why he seemed so familiar and why Noctis seemed to sense Prompto’s presence even when he had no reason to seek him out. Part of him had wondered if he would find his soulmate or if he would be alone. Especially after what happened last time.

“You know,” Ignis began. “We should make sure he is who he says he is.”

“Uh huh,” Noctis replied. 

Iris did a groan of disapproval. “You can’t do that. Besides, when you fall in love, it should happen naturally. Go on a few dates and then things will start clicking… and _then_ you can ask him a million questions.”

“Or,” Gladio offered. “We can just make sure he is who he says he is.”

“I don't know,” Noctis said quietly. “I’m sure he’s okay. He seems okay.”

“That kid looks like a loud clap would scare him,” Gladio laughed.

“I don’t know,” Ignis said quietly. “We’ll check him out tomorrow. I doubt someone would go through all the trouble that Prompto went through just for it to be a lie. Besides, it all makes sense. You don’t think his friends haven’t also done their research as well. It is not exactly a secret that Noctis cannot be searched online.”

“True,” Iris said nervously. “But what do you think Noct?”

Noctis did think about it. This couldn’t be like last time, he had a good feeling about this, even if his brain was telling him to doubt that.

“I guess you can Iggy,” Noctis began slowly. “But if there really isn’t anything, then there isn’t anything. I’ll have him tell me. We’re supposed to get coffee.”

“Seriously?” Gladio asked. “Already?”

“Why?” Noctis asked. “Didn’t you and Iggy ha—”

“—My sister is in the car!” Gladio yelled. “Enough.”

No one said a word for about ten seconds, which was broken by Noctis’ snickering. It soon turned to full blown laughter when everyone else whined and groaned at what was not said. Maybe it was not all that funny and he was just a little too drunk to tell. But he remembered the name: Prompto. He didn’t remember his last name… did Prompto even tell him his last name? Prompto was a little bit shorter than him, right? And he had Blonde hair? Noctis felt some sort of glee at the fact that at least his voice sounded wonderful to his ears. That and the touch of him were the only tangible things he could think of when he thought of Prompto. Iris could not be much help in this department, she never had a bad word to say about anyone.

“Is Prompto hot?” Noctis asked suddenly. He had to know. “Be honest.”

“I think he is!” Iris said cheerfully. “He is very easy on the eyes Noct.”

“He is attractive,” Ignis said carefully. “He has a friendly face.”

Gladio groaned which caused Noctis to laugh. “Jealous Gladio?” Noctis teased.

“Oh please,” Gladio huffed. “Maybe on your first date, you should take him to a buffet. He’s a little twig. I bet you they aren’t paying photojournalists very much.”

Noctis thought about this as well, as best as he could in his drunken haze. He vaguely remembered that Prompto had student loans to pay, so he wasn’t at all like the rest of his friends in the car. They all went to the “fancy prep schools” that many parents in the city would have given anything to send their kids to. Noctis was the odd one out most of the time. His classmates pitied him and he didn’t really care. They were not interesting to talk to. Ignis was his only real friend but that didn’t matter by the time 5th grade and senior year came along. Noctis was alone for those years after Ignis graduated but Ignis and Luna still made the effort to hang out with him as much as possible. It was good enough for the time, but now that they were older and settled, he felt better about his life now. He was almost done with school, he was enjoying his music class and the company (and his father by proxy) was doing better. And then this happened…

“We’re almost there,” Iris said brightly. “Unless you all want something to eat?”

“I do actually,” Gladio said. “I want some tacos.”

“Tacos do sound good,” Noctis hummed.

“I thought you said no food,” Ignis said indignantly. Noctis could have sworn he heard a pout from Ignis, but that seemed unlikely. 

“Well,” Iris said. “We need to celebrate. Noctis found, what seems to be, the real deal Soulmate. We should celebrate… with some tacos.”

Gladio cheered and so did Noctis while the car continued to move through the streets of Insomnia. Hopefully, once Noctis sobered up a bit, he would remember to text Prompto.

***

They were in a booth in a nearby 24/7 restaurant. It turned out that there were very few places that sold tacos on a Wednesday night but they happened to find one by the Palm district. The new restaurants were going up and Gladio told Noctis that his last name was everywhere. Even that new CFO, that he did not like. He had only met him, maybe twice, but he did not like the way he talked to the rest of the workers and as long as Noctis studied, he was able to ignore him. Which was a blessing in disguise. 

Noctis had some fries while everyone else had their usuals. It didn’t matter that they all had full days ahead, but it did matter that his friends were finally happy. He had known Ignis since middle school. When Luna had left, Noctis was “assigned” Ignis by the Headmaster. But it wasn’t all that bad, they had a lot of similar interests and it was nice to have someone that he could learn to trust around him. Ignis going to middle school was tough on Noctis because he was alone for a year, but he also enjoyed it because he wanted to prove that he was self-sufficient on his own. He was able to get to around the school with ease and he was able to stand up for himself when needed. Middle School became easier and High School was truly the time when he was able to thrive.

Things like falling in love, which was the ultimate conversation starter in Eos, was not a concern for him. Noctis just assumed he would never find it or his Soulmate would not even bother. Buzzing noises suddenly came from his wallet and Noctis knew who it was.

“Can one of you guys take me outside?” Noctis asked. Iris, who was sitting next to him agreed and he followed her lead. 

“I saw a bench outside,” Iris giggled. “That way you can talk to _your Soulmate_.”

Noctis sighed deeply but did not refute that claim. That last time was bad, really bad. It was the first day mixer that all the first year law students had to attend. A pleasant enough voice had cornered him and he, at first, said that he was only there to say hello and go home. It was a _girl_ that had told him what Prompto had said earlier that night. They were soulmates. And Noctis did not know at the time, but her voice sounded _nothing_ like Prompto’s. Maybe it wasn’t just seeing colors, he thought...

“Hello?” Prompto buzzed through the phone. “Hello? Well, I got home just now. Aranea walked me so that I could sober up a bit. How are you?”

“I was just eating some fries,” Noctis could feel himself smiling, in spite of himself. “It wasn’t my idea.”

“Well,” Prompto laughed. “That dude, Gladio, looks like he could eat fries and a burger and maybe a drink to go with it all.”

“No,” Noctis laughed. “He got some tacos.”

“How many though?”

“Ignis said he got nine!”

“Seriously?” Prompto laughed. Noctis laughed along with him.

“Seriously,” Noctis echoed back. “It’s been like this since college. When we go drinking, usually we get food afterwards.”

“Next time,” Prompto began. “I’ll invite Aranea to come and join us. You’d like her, she usually has no filter when sober and absolutely none when tipsy.”

Noctis thought of the other voice that was nearby earlier. She seemed nice, but he wondered if this was another part of finding your Soulmate, you still had to get to know them. That _girl_ , he didn’t really know all that well, even though they had “dated” for so long. Even though Noctis had made the effort to introduce her to everyone that was important to him, she did not do the same. In retrospect, he wondered why he did not wise up sooner.

“Sounds good,” Noctis laughed. “But first let’s get coffee… or something.”

It started like that too… they went to get coffee the next day.

“Sure!” Prompto said cheerfully. “I know this really good place but I have to work. We can get lunch though? If I don’t take my break, I can get an hour. So from 11:30 to 12:30. Would that be okay?”

Noctis grinned into his phone. His first class ended at 11, so he could get lunch with Prompto. He remembered that _girl_ and she took at least two days to get back to him after coffee. That was weird to think about now.. The little voice of insecurity came back into his head. Maybe Prompto would find him unloveable or too hard to love? That’s what he had thought was the case back then. There were so many people and things he had to rely on to get through the day, so maybe Prompto would resent the fact that Noctis was going to be burden. Those feelings of inadequacy felt worse with that _girl_.

“Just message me the directions,” Noctis spoke into the phone but he heard the familiar voices of his friends leaving the restaurant. “I get out of class at 11, so we can do a quick lunch.”

“Awesome,” Prompto sighed into the phone. “Hey, if something news-wise breaks, I’ll let you know. Hopefully not, but you never know.”

“Yeah,” Noctis replied back. “Just message me.”

“Okay,” Prompto laughed. “Hey, I’m glad everything turned out okay. I was really worried.”

Noctis found himself hesitating again, only because it did not seem real. He accepted the confession last time and willingly went along with everything. Even if a small part of himself was disappointed with how things ended with that _girl_. He had even asked Gladio if it did get better over time and Gladio assured him that things got better every day. Noctis had convinced himself that the next day, it would be better. And it never happened.

“Me too,” Noctis said and hoped that it sounded genuine on the phone. “You should have just told me when we met.”

“I was scared,” Prompto laughed.

“Of what?”

“Well,” Prompto said slowly. “I thought it would be weird to just spill it all out like that. Besides... Umbra looks like he’d kick my ass and since I love dogs, I’d probably let him.”

Noctis laughed and the thought. Umbra was the sweetest service dog he had the pleasure of having. Umbra was good to him and he had no idea how his dog would deal with Prompto as an additional person in their lives. The thought of being able to share something else with Prompto had made him happy. 

“My dog is very nice—”

“—Hey Noct,” It was Iris’ voice. “We paid for the food and we got worried. Me and Gladdy checked on you but went back inside. You’ve been gone for like…”

“At least twenty minutes,” Ignis continued. “It’s almost midnight, we should go drop you off.”

Gladio’s yawn made Noctis yawn. It was late and he knew that he had to stop talking to Prompto but a large part of him wanted to know more. He wanted to know what his favorite foods were, what he liked to do with his free time, what his family was like and if he was nervous about what to do next. Noctis wanted to ask all of these questions, but he had responsibilities and so did Prompto. 

“Hey I gotta go,” Noctis said. “We’ve been talking for 20 minutes.”

Prompto giggled, even hearing that made Noctis smile more. “We have been talking for that long, huh? I’ll let you go then.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Noctis asked again.

“Sure!” Prompto said cheerfully. “Absolutely! Good night then!”

“Good night,” Noctis said finally and he heard the end call noise on the other end. Not even a second later, he heard the snickering from his friends that were coming in front of him. He had no shame at that point and he didn’t care if they thought it was funny.

“See,” Iris said cheerfully. “Noctis didn’t even like F—”

“—Don’t say the name,” Gladio and Ignis said together. Noctis laughed at that too. He didn’t want to hear her name for a long time and he still didn’t want to. Besides the uneasiness of that weird relationship, she had told him that they were Soulmates and he had fallen for it. Because why would someone lie like that? It was only six months later, that Ignis discovered… that _girl_ with someone else, hand in hand walking down some random street. When Ignis shared that information with Noctis, it had made sense. The uneasiness he felt, the fact that conversations and the simple act of getting to know her was so hard. It should have never been hard. That’s what Gladio had reassured him. It was what he had heard from classmates and from his father all of his life. 

Meeting your Soulmate was supposed to be like talking to a best friend you never knew you had, Ignis had said. You could talk to you for hours, his father had told him and Noctis did not have that before. It was easier with Prompto, he could tell already that this was the case. He couldn’t wait to see him tomorrow and he wondered if he should put in any effort into his appearance. That was the one thing that Noctis never _ever_ cared about. He just let Ignis or Gladio pick out what was nice and in style but he never knew if it looked good. To be fair, Noctis _never_ cared if it looked good. Now it was different, and he did care a little bit. Maybe that’s why Prompto bought that new cologne because he didn’t smell like that last week…

“Eos to Noctis,” Gladio laughed. “Let’s go, you can go dream about that skinny boyfriend of yours later.” Noctis stood up and felt Iris’ soft hands grasp his arm. He unhooked his walking cane and felt the end of the tip hit the floor as they started to walk back to the car.

A boyfriend...

Noctis closed his eyes and remembered and thought about that some more. There were plenty of gay couples that were Soulmates which was not a surprise to him. However, Noctis had naturally worried about his father’s reaction. He wondered if Prompto’s parents would disapprove or if they would be supportive. Noctis made sure to make a mental note to ask tomorrow. 

“What a night,” Ignis sighed. “And it is not Friday yet.”

“Well,” Gladio yawned. “Do you still want us to get info on your Boyfriend?”

“No,” Noctis said. “I think I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Ignis asked. “It is no trouble at all.” 

Noctis thought about it. “Gladio, did Ignis’ voice sound… different when you talk with him compared to a stranger?”

“What do you mean?” Gladio asked.

“Yes,” Ignis asked. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Noctis began. “I heard Prompto’s voice, that first time… and it sounded different? I don’t know. I know your voices just because you are my friends and at least I know I’m okay. But Prompto’s sounds different…”

“Different how?” Iris asked.

“You all can rely on seeing color,” Noctis began. “I can’t do that. So I guess I am trying to figure out if I can be sure with hearing him. He sounds… I don’t know. He sounds… _nice_...”

“He just sounds like a tired dude with a job,” Gladio said flatly. They all laughed but Noctis assumed that would be the answer he’d get.

“I love the way Gladio’s voice sounds,” Ignis said with absolute confidence. “So that must mean a confirmation of something, right Noct?”

Gladio snorted and Noctis heard Iris’ sighs and groans of annoyance. “Stop that,” Iris warned. She pulled Noctis closer to her. “This PDA is too much. I’m your _sister_...”

Noctis laughed and was grateful that he didn’t have to see them like this. But Ignis’ words reassured Noctis that at least he was not weird for feeling like Prompto’s voice was absolutely _riveting_ to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to switch POV's because I have been itching to write that for a while. As always your comments and kudos are lovely. I will try and have another chapter by this weekend but I have been busy with work and trying to finish Breath of the Wild. I am also about to become an Aunt and it is taking over my life and I cannot wait to have a lovely nephew ^__^
> 
> Thanks again!


	7. We Found Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First date awkwardness and sweetness...

It was hard to remember when Prompto had slept so soundly. The peaceful sleep that he had made it so much harder to get up the next morning to go to work. He hated calling out for something as stupid as sleeping in, when he could be doing other things like going for a morning jog. But he made sure to get up and be as flawless as possible for today. The night before, he was so nervous but so happy that things had turned out just fine. Just like how everyone had said that it would. 

Aranea made fun of him the entire time she walked him back to his apartment. He felt like a fool and his face hurt from smiling so much. It also helped that he was still, very much not sober. In fact, he called Noctis by mistake instead of falling straight to sleep. It was worth it though, because he had a lunch date and Prompto forgot just how long it had been since he had one of those.

Instead of rushing to work, Prompto was strutting to there. He usually felt like he was in such a rush, but today nothing bothered him whatsoever. This was new territory for him. In the past, when he went on dates, he usually tried his best to be as cordial as possible because he and the other person knew what their arrangement was. It was common enough to date around and Prompto was used to it when things would fizzle out one way or another. He pushed back those memories and focused on the here and the now. Things were different now.

“Good morning loser,” Aranea told him when he sat down at his desk. She peaked over and did a double take when she saw Prompto’s full outfit. “You look cute today!”

“Me and Noctis are going on a lunch date,” Prompto said cheerfully. 

“Oh really?” Aranea drawled. “That’s nice.”

“Please tell me nothing has happened,” Prompto said nervously. “I’d hate for something to happen and I couldn't meet up with him.”

“Not yet,” Aranea said but the next moment she knocked on her desk. 

“I don't think our desks are made out of real wood,” Prompto said slowly. He was not sure either way and repeated the act on his own desk.

“I brought you breakfast,” Aranea’s hand shot up with a bag in her hand. Prompto snatched it because it was from his favorite bagel place. “Because I knew you would forget to eat.”

“I’ll eat it now,” Prompto said in annoyance. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Aranea said. “I’ll make sure to tell Noctis about your bad habits so _he_ can bug you instead.”

“Right,” Prompto said as he rolled his eyes. “Are you almost done with that story?” 

“Yes,” Aranea waved her hand above her desk and in the next second he heard some familiar and fast typing. “Don't bother me.”

“I won't,” Prompto began. “I’m going to the courthouse because there is some murder case I have to cover. But if you need help after I come back from lunch let me know.”

“Sure,” Aranea peered over and narrowed her eyes. “Eat your bagel.”

Prompto grabbed his camera bag, press pass and bagel and made sure to wave it hard in Aranea’s direction as he headed out.

***

There was a bit of a commotion when the attorneys made their statements to the media. Prompto was able to photograph a district attorney making her statement to the media about the court decision. Although he still had to get used to how to photograph with colors, he felt as though he was doing a better job than he had anticipated. He occasionally got a headache if he stared at a a bright cluster of colors or lights. Luckily, Prompto got a really good shot of the district attorney, otherwise, he would have had to be reprimanded by his editor for the day.

Eventually, Prompto was able to take the shots that he had wanted to take. He recognized a few of his peers from other publications. Prompto also noticed that a few of them looked so different to him now. Usually, he didn’t pay attention, but now he noticed things like blonde hairs, grey hairs, the different skin colors they all had. It made him happy that he could see those details. 

There was a buzz coming from his back pocket. But Prompto was on the job now, so he refused to check his phone until all of the officials were done talking. He did, however, check his watch. It was nearly 11 and he hoped that he wouldn’t be late. Prompto had already started off on the wrong foot with Noctis, so he really did not want to be late. 

Thankfully, the last official spoke and Prompto was ready to head off for his lunch date.

***

It was nearly 11:30, and Prompto made a call to the editor back at the Times building and made his way towards the lunch spot that he liked. It would be safe enough, Prompto felt. Who could not like burgers and fries?

When he turned the last corner and saw Noctis, Prompto felt relieved. A part of him _really_ believed that maybe this was some type of cosmic joke because no one could get this lucky. Aranea had drilled it into his head ever since Prompto was able to see everything. Here was this, in all honesty, perfect man that was rich and was going to law school. And Prompto felt _so_ inadequate in comparison…

“Hey there,” Prompto said nervously. Noctis, who was smiling, sat on a bench in front of restaurant with Umbra. Noctis was dressed nicely, in some slacks and a nice collared shirt. Prompto, was so glad that at least the two of them looked good today.

“Hey,” Noctis raised his hand and Prompto got the message and took it. Noctis got up, still grinning and looped his arm with Prompto’s. “I just got here. I thought I was going to be late.”

“Sorry,” Prompto said immediately. “I was at the courthouse and the conference went on for a while. But I’m here.”

“Let’s go inside then,” Noctis said. Umbra was eager to go in as well so Prompto made sure to hurry on ahead.

***

“So law school?” Prompto asked. They were seated almost immediately. Umbra was laying down next to Noctis and started to nap. “I mean… you seem too nice to be a lawyer.”

Noctis laughed but drank some of his soda. “It’s mostly for my Dad’s company. I want to be involved somehow. But it’s not too bad. I just record all the lectures and type all my notes.”

“So you like school?” Prompto cringed.

“Yeah,” Noctis made sure to nod. “I like school.”

Prompto sighed and shook his head. “Well, at least if I get into trouble, I’ll just have you fix that for me.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Noctis grinned. Their waitress finally appeared and took their order. Noctis has not sure what to get but ultimately decided on the regular cheeseburger with fries. Prompto ordered the same thing but continued to grin at Noctis.

“Do you have a family?” Noctis asked suddenly. “I mean, brothers or sisters?”

Prompto stopped drinking his soda and paused. He was stumped by the question but he had to be honest about it.

“Umm,” Prompto began. “I don’t have any.”

“So an only child?” Noctis asked. “Like me? I don’t have any brothers or sisters.”

“Well,” Prompto began. “I was in a foster care house for a while. But I don’t think I have any brothers or sisters.”

Noctis, who for the most part had been grinning the entire time, stopped and bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Prompto said dismissively. “I haven’t really talked about my childhood for a while. It wasn’t that _bad_. I went to school and everything…” Prompto felt more embarrassed now. 

“We can talk about something else,” Noctis said quickly. “That seems kinda heavy to talk about on a first date huh?”

“I guess,” Prompto said quietly. “ _Maybe_ after the second date.” Prompto laughed at his own stupid joke but thankfully, Noctis did smile again. Prompto continued to talk about his day so far. Noctis talked about his class (writing court briefs of criminal cases). The time seemed to pass by slowly and Prompto continued to take mental notes on Noctis. The way he moved, his hair and the way he would tilt his head at even the smallest movements. Prompto loved every minute of it.

“Oh the food’s here,” Prompto said softly while Noctis stopped talking about where they went to eat the night before. The waitress dropped off the two plates while Prompto eyed Noctis carefully. 

“Are there veggies in this?” Noctis asked. “Sometimes there are places that don’t put veggies.”

“Yes,” Prompto said slowly. He did not understand why Noctis would ask this kind of question. “It’s a burger, of course they are going to put veggies in there.”

“I don’t like veggies,” Noctis frowned. 

“Seriously?” Prompto laughed. He took Noctis’ plate, almost by instinct and began to take out any veggies that were in the burger. If Noctis didn’t want to eat them, at least Prompto knew he would.

“I didn’t know,” Noctis whined. 

“What else don’t you like?” Prompto continued to giggle and tried out his burger. It was good but Noctis pouted instead. 

“Beans?” Noctis said in an annoyed tone. “Not being able to sleep in…”

“Are you sure you are going to be a lawyer?” Prompto continued to laugh while eating his food. “You sound like a little kid.”

“Whatever,” Noctis waved his hand dismissively but finally began to eat. Prompto still laughed but made sure to look at his watch for the time. He still had about 30 minutes left. 

“Hey,” Prompto began. “When do you want to meet up again?”

“Sick of me already,?” Noctis teased.

“Of course not,” Prompto laughed. “I just figured we should spend more time together. I don’t know what you like. The dislikes, I got that covered.”

“I like music,” Noctis said. “Obviously…”

“So maybe a concert?” Prompto asked. “I don’t know, I think that would be good?”

“That would be good,” Noctis smiled. “I told my Dad about you this morning. He seemed happy about it.”

“Really?” Prompto cringed again. The thought of meeting a ultra-famous CEO did not appeal to him in any way. “I mean… at least he’s happy.”

“He was a bit surprised,” Noctis said thoughtfully. “But he was happy about it. I said we’d date around for a bit before you can meet him.”

Prompto was happy to hear that and to know that Noctis had a good father. Aranea did not have a good relationship with her Dad, just her Mom. Prompto had no real frame of reference for something like that. Except Cor, but he wasn’t really his Dad. But Prompto thought at least Noctis could meet him later on. 

“Yeah,” Prompto said. “I don’t know, I thought it would be hard to prove to you, but you seemed to like talking to me.”

“I was telling Ignis last night that I love the sound of your voice,” Noctis said quickly. Prompto thought that Noctis seemed to realize that was maybe something embarrassing to say aloud. Noctis quickly bowed his head and looked away.

“So likes: Music and my voice,” Prompto drawled. “Dislikes: Beans, veggies and being awake.”

“Basically,” Noctis laughed. “I feel like that has to be apart of it. I don’t know…”

“Well,” Prompto began. “Me and Aranea did a story on unconventional love stories. But it was more of a helpful thing for me. This lady that we interviewed, she’s blind and said that she did like her Soulmate’s voice. So I don’t think you're wrong. She just told me to talk to you a lot…”

Noctis laughed but nodded in agreement. "Sounds about right."

The rest of the meal passed along so easily. Prompto learned a bit more about Noctis, as much as twenty more minutes would allow either way. If Prompto had lived in a different district of Insomnia as a kid, they would have at least been able to see each other sooner. Noctis explained that he and Ignis took the subway in high school. Prompto took the same one, but he went off two stops before they got on. Noctis also told Prompto about his class schedule which was really helpful. So Prompto planned to ask for more weekends off so that he could schedule more dates during those times. By the time they were finished with their meal, Prompto felt as though he knew enough about his Soulmate to at least tell know what Noctis liked and what he didn’t.

“Hey,” Prompto frowned at his watch. “I only have a few minutes left then I have to go to back to the Times building. I have to go do some editing.”

Noctis’ smile faltered for a bit, but Prompto noticed that it did. “Okay… hey maybe we can try and meet up after you get off?”

Prompto thought about it. Usually, he tried to take it easy on work nights (the previous day notwithstanding) but he did not know how Noctis would feel about that. He also had a roommate that was sometimes there and sometimes wasn’t.

“Umm,” Prompto began. “Do you mind if I cook for you? I promise to go easy on the veggies.”

“Sure,” Noctis smiled. “I’ll have someone drop me off after I go to my last class. Which I have to go to soon.” Prompto laughed at Noctis’ whining.

“I thought you liked school?”

“ _Shut up_ Prompto.”

That only made Prompto laugh more. “Before I forget, my roommate. His name is Loqi and he’s kind of a douchebag. _But_ he’s a clean one that pays the bills. I never see him, so hopefully that trend continues tonight.”

“Gotcha,” Noctis smiled. The waitress finally brought back the bill (which they split at Prompto’s insistence), which signaled the end of their first official date.

Prompto made his way to get up from his chair. Umbra yawned and finally woke up from his nap but the dog was ready to go once Noctis started to get up. Just like before, Noctis reached out to grab Prompto’s hand but this time, he just held on while waiting for Umbra to move. 

“I think my hands are sweaty,” Prompto said nervously.

“I don’t care,” Noctis said.

Prompto calmed down but he tried his best to act as normal as he could. He walked back outside with Noctis. His school was a few blocks away but Prompto agreed to walk to with him until Prompto had to reach the street where the Times was located.

“I think this was a good date,” Prompto began. "As far as first dates go."

“I think so too,” Noctis replied back. They continued to walk in silence but Prompto enjoyed this moment at least. He was walking hand and hand with his Soulmate, he was going to finish working and come back to his apartment and cook for Noctis. The thought of it made his heart swell but he wished that he could take the rest of the afternoon off and just talk with Noctis.

“What do you want to eat tonight?” Prompto said. “I was just going to cook some pasta… with no veggies.”

“Sure,” Noctis said. “And don’t sneak any in. Ignis does that and it’s annoying.”

“You are ridiculous,” Prompto giggled. “Ugh, this is where I got to go.”

“Oh,” Noctis frowned a bit. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

Prompto looked down at Umbra who patiently waited for the crosswalk sign to change. Noctis let go of Prompto’s hand but instead of walking away when the light turned into a green cactuar, something else happened. Noctis patted his hand up Prompto’s arm until he reached the shoulder. Prompto did not know what Noctis was trying to do but Prompto just watched his Soulmate gently put pressure on his shoulder. It was quick, but then it occurred to Prompto that maybe Noctis was trying to kiss him. So Prompto beat him to it and gently kissed Noctis on the cheek. 

“I was going to do that though,” Noctis groaned. 

“Do it then,” Prompto giggled. He moved his face to be directly in front of of Noctis. Prompto felt Noctis’ hand carefully graze over his cheek while Noctis kissed him. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Noctis smiled. Umbra barked and the red hand showed up again on the crosswalk sign. “I don’t want to make you late, you should go.”

“I’ll see you later though!” Prompto half-yelled as he continued to walk down the otherside of the street. Noctis waved in the direction of his voice but Prompto wished he could kiss Noctis again. Maybe tonight he'd be able to. Prompto tried to walk faster because maybe that would make the day go by quicker. Prompto could not wait until tonight. He slowed his pace and saw even more signs with that man, Ardyn Izunia. He squinted a bit more but there were even more posters on the other side of the street. Come of think of it Aranea mentioned something about him the other day, right?

It was then that his phone rang. It was Aranea so he picked it up right away.

“Hey,” Prompto began. “What’s up?”

“You gotta get here quickly,” Aranea said quickly. “I think we finally have our next story.”

“What is it?” Prompto asked.

“That Ardyn guy,” Aranea began. “We have a good lead that he is involved in something shady. But I’ll explain more when you get here. I’m ready for hardcore journalism again. Are you?”

Prompto sighed, “I guess…”

“Look Casanova,” Aranea started. “Ardyn is involved in some illegal activities that are… just _yikes..._ And I want to make sure you are here in person when I tell you. It’s so bad it’s good. And Luna wants us to go investigate, so get your skinny ass here fast.”

“Okay okay,” Prompto said emphatically. “I’m almost there.” 

Prompto heard the dial tone the next moment and continued to look at the man in the posters. He did look like he would be involved in something bad. All Prompto could do was hope that whatever it was, would not take very long so that he could hang out with Noctis tonight. He knew better and by the sound of Aranea's voice, maybe cooking for Noctis would have to wait another night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how frequent the updates will be this week but next week is my Spring Break so hopefully the updates will be rolling on through. Also if any of you want to yell at me about Noctis not liking beans, my twitter is @peachynoctis and my tumblr is @malinche.
> 
> Thank you!


	8. Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Complications and compromises...

When Prompto finally got into the elevator he noticed a familiar face. It was Nyx and usually Prompto would see the human resource manager occasionally. Nyx was genuinely happy on those occasions. They usually talked about how wonderful Luna was and what they are for lunch. But this time, Nyx looked troubled.

“Rough day?” Prompto asked. Nyx had held the elevator for him while Prompto half-jogged to enter. 

“I guess you could say that,” Nyx sighed. “Just an FYI, you are probably going to walk into a shit storm when you get up there.”

“Aranea gave me a heads up,” Prompto began. “Is it bad? Like I am going to spend all night here bad? I had a little dinner date tonight.”

“Luna told me,” Nyx said in a bemused tone. “You really should have told him immediately.”

Prompto rolled his eyes. “I’m not Monday morning quarterbacking this anymore… I did use that term correctly right?”

“You did,” Nyx drawled. He cocked his eyebrows in Prompto's direction. “Congratulations.”

“Maybe you should have done the same thing,” Prompto began. He was ready to fight about this. “When you know that they invented locks on doors for a reason.”

“Stop,” Nyx waved his hand and narrowed his eyes at him. “You were just being nosey.”

“It’s... called,” Prompto giggled. “Me trying to go home. _You_ should work on being too loud.”

Nyx rolled his eyes but he did not have a retort for Prompto when the elevator finally opened for his floor. “See you later Blondie.”

Prompto thought about saying something about pet names but he decided not to. He just waved at Nyx who cocked his head in Prompto’s direction. Secretly, he thought that Nyx was a lucky guy because Luna was the nicest boss he had ever had and probably one of the nicest people he had met period. He just hoped to emphasize that enough so that he could try and go home early today. Maybe things had calmed down, at least Prompto could hold onto that for as long as he could. He counted the steps until he knew he would have to brace himself for the inevitable.

Nyx was right. It was a shit show. 

All of the reporters were inside of Luna’s office and she was pacing furiously while drinking coffee. Prompto noted the back of Aranea’s head as she raised her hands and pointed outside towards different parts of the office. Luna, without losing her cool, would answer back while Aranea shook her legs furiously while sitting on a chair. It went on like this for a long time as Prompto watched them talk to each other. There were other reporters in there as well, each one making their points while Prompto watched the other photographers going in and out of the office. They were all ready to pounce but Prompto was still not sure what he wanted. Sure, it would be nice to get back into more investigative journalism. He was more focused now and he did not have to worry about trying to find his Soulmate. That hard part was over. So Prompto made his edits and tried not to think about it. 

Somewhere between trying to figure out how to layer a particularly nice shot he captured earlier in the day, Aranea appeared with her head above Prompto’s cubicle wall. Prompto eyed her with curiosity, while she looked absolutely gleeful.

“Blondie,” Aranea breathed in. “We have got such a great story.”

“Lay it on me,” Prompto moved a stack of folders to another side of the desk so that Aranea could take a seat. She patted him lightly on the shoulder and did something that looked like a happy dance with her elbows. It was terrible, but Prompto let her have this moment. 

“So that man,” Aranea began. “Ardyn…” She reached over the cubicle wall and produced a manilla file folder and gave it to Prompto. “We got the job, by the way. But we are going to have to work with Crowe and maybe someone else… she’s the new one over on the other side.” 

Prompto tried to move his head to get a better look but Aranea patted his arm with urgency. 

“We can meet and greet later,” Aranea said. “So, that guy, he is from Niflheim, right?” 

Prompto nodded and Aranea kept going.

“Apparently he has ties to this family that has been linked to every horrible thing you can imagine. We have two witnesses and from what they phoned in it… it is so bad. But there is a link there, and I think your Soulmate’s daddy C.E.O. might or might not be in on this whole thing.” Aranea stopped talking when Prompto raised his hand.

“There’s no way his Dad knows,” Prompto said slowly. “That doesn’t seem like something he’d do…”

“How would you know?” Aranea countered. “You don’t even know the guy. Mr. “I have had one official date” with my Soulmate.”

Prompto felt himself getting angry but she did have a point. They barely even talked about their families and in Prompto’s case, the lack thereof. He had no idea if Noctis’ father was capable of being involved with someone so horrible. That was an awful thing to think about.

“So what are we going to do?” Prompto asked. “Because if we do this, we have to do interviews... get great sources… maybe go to Niflheim?” He immediately frowned at the idea. The last thing Prompto wanted to do was visit a foreign country. 

“We have two people,” Aranea said quietly. “Maybe a third person if we go to Neflheim. Luna is getting some paperwork ready so that they can speak anonymously and have themselves protected. I got jists of what they both have to say. It’s really sad. But apparently that’s how Ardyn first made his money. Doing this illegal crap, then getting into that loan shark business, and now he thinks he can just move onto your Boy’s company and make himself into a legitimate business man. What a fucking piece of work huh?”

“Well,” Prompto sighed. “At least we can get people to talk and we’ll be able to get a good story.”

“Don’t tell your Boy about this either,” Aranea warned. “Luna isn’t going to say anything either. It will cause problems when this gets out. Thankfully, none of the other papers have a clue about this.”

Prompto shut his eyes, covered his face with his hands and sighed deeply. “He really did look like a creep huh?”

“I have a good sixth sense about this stuff,” Aranea said weakly. “I know you normally don’t like shit dealing with people getting hurt... but I want you and me to work on this.”

Prompto took a deep breath and thought about it. Sure, a part of him really did want to bow out of this. He never did well when dealing with crying children and/or victims. On those days, he and Aranea would go to the bar while Cindy would pour them hard whiskey instead of the usual beers they would have. However, Prompto was itching to get back into being out in a potentially dangerous story. The other part of him wanted to make sure that Noctis would not be a casualty of all of this. The Caleum Company might not be able to recover from the bad press of one person that just happened to be terrible.

“So interviews?” Aranea began. She had her tape recorder ready and Prompto eyed her wearily. “We can get two done today and do the next one tomorrow. But it sounds like we will probably need to go to Niflheim.” 

“Yay,” Prompto said sarcastically. He was trying so hard to not show how much he was not enjoying this.

“Oh please,” Aranea said. “I can always ask someone else but I am asking you first. Let’s do this, it’ll be fine. It’ll be amazing and we are gonna win a pulitzer and then we are going to have a fantastic big breakfast afterwards to celebrate. With mimosas.”

Prompto took a deep breath. “Mimosas sound good. But I invited Noctis to dinner at my apartment tonight.”

“If Loqi is there,” Aranea began. She brushed her nose and looked around the newsroom. “That probably wouldn’t be the best idea.”

“I texted him,” Prompto said. Loqi worked nights which was a relief most of the time. Other times, Prompto would occasionally walk into Loqi making out with at least a different person every single time. Then there was that one time Prompto caught him making out with the couch. That was a great blackmailing kind of night. “And he is _miraculously_ at work tonight. I thought he was going to call out sick again. He is such a flake.”

“Well now that you found Noctis,” Aranea offered. “At least you guys can talk about moving in and all of that. But I wouldn’t rush it, you two are still getting to know each other.”

“Hopefully...” Prompto watched as Aranea went to her desk, grabbing her coat that was hanging from her chair. Prompto stood up and grabbed his own coat and began to walk towards the door. He did the checkup of making sure he had his press pass, his camera bag and his coat. Aranea was gently elbowing Prompto towards the elevators and she eyeballed a particular corner of the office. He had seen her around, but Prompto supposed that the new girl was Crowe and she was very pretty. 

“She’s pretty,” Prompto said while turning toward Aranea, grinning. 

“We’re both off the market,” Aranea warned. She huffed her breath towards the right side of her face, blowing away some strands of her hair. “Makes sense though, you like brunettes.”

Prompto laughed and kept walking with Aranea towards the elevator doors.

***

Before Prompto knew it, it was already dark outside. He was eager to get home, he was starving and they had a long day already. The first witness ended early, barely giving them any information that wasn’t already shared with Luna. After a few phone calls, the witness, a very young college looking girl named Sarah, agreed to speak with them again tomorrow morning. She wanted to talk to a lawyer. Prompto, for a half-second, wanted to say that he knew one but Noctis hadn’t even taken the bar exam yet. So he stayed quiet while knowing that he could joke around with Aranea about it later. 

The next witness was this nervous young man that met with them at a local coffee shop. He had more information for them. He was a refugee from Niflheim, but his father had worked with Ardyn in the past. The details were murky, at best, Aranea said that it was not much to go on. Douglas, the young man no older than nineteen, was so young when his father was doing his criminal dealings that it would not be credible. However, he did mention a crucial detail: Ardyn went with his father to commit crimes. Douglas said that his father had died of a drug overdose, but on his deathbed confessed to all the things he had done, maybe as a way to make amends, Prompto did not know. Finally, Douglas had told him that his father assisted Ardyn in committing a murder. Who was murdered? Aranea had asked and Douglas did not know. He just knew he had to say something because of all the ads going up around the city. How could anyone trust a murderer, Douglas had said sadly. He was worried and wanted to make sure that Aranea would change his name and Aranea agreed. It was something small, but it was something. When Prompto and Aranea parted with Douglass, they were both excited and nervous. They had to tell Luna, but it was almost six o’clock. 

“Yes to overtime,” Aranea began to ask. “Or no to overtime?”

“I’d rather not,” Prompto frowned. “But maybe I should just because that is crazy. He fucking killed someone. Maybe more than one person.”

“This is a mess,” Aranea began while scratching her chin nervously. “But there is no way the Lucian Government would have any info about anything going on in Niflheim. We gotta go over there.”

“Yeah,” Prompto bit down on the inside of his cheek. “We should leave on Friday. It’s still not safe to go there. But if we leave on the weekend, it’ll just look like we are just visiting for the weekend.”

“I agree,” Aranea sighed. She looked in the direction of the apartment building she shared with Cindy. Prompto did not know how Aranea could do it. His two friends had such hectic schedules, but Aranea told Prompto that the time they cherished together was good enough. Cindy was off tonight, so Aranea was just as eager to head home. She looked at Prompto hopeful, but tired. “I’m gonna head off, what about you?”

Prompto lightly bounced on his heels and looked “Well,” Prompto remembered the text he received earlier from Noctis. He was studying for a test and got out late. Noctis was not sure if he would be able to make it, but he would text Prompto back if he was able to make it. “I’ll head back, if anything I’ll get to sleep in.”

“Hopefully he comes over,” Aranea nodded. “Just tell him you are going to be out of town, then watch his ass drop everything. Sometimes Cindy and I have to do that, but until we get old and get boring jobs, that’s what you gotta do.”

Prompto frowned but knew that Aranea was right. It felt silly, to be this needy when he was just getting to know Noctis. But as Prompto watched the hues of the city growing darker, he was compelled to make his case over the phone. The neon lights, which still ached to look at, were too bright to look at but it looked kind of beautiful. It made sense that the only thing that he wanted to look at now, was not lights or anything having to do with his job. He just wanted to look at Noctis and hoped that he would not royally screw up something as simple as pasta.

“I’ll text him,” Prompto said slowly. “But good night and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” With that, Prompto waved at Aranea who did a mock salute in his direction. 

***

Prompto did not get an answer from Noctis, so he continued to cook on his stove. He was still hungry and thankfully, making a quick spaghetti with meatballs was not too taxing. Even if Noctis did not come over, he would have leftovers for tomorrow. Prompto was also grateful that Loqi could not hang around the apartment for a while and harass whoever Prompto invited over. His roommate’s door was open when Prompto sauntered into the apartment. But he was not in there. Prompto had to make sure that asshole was not here. Knowing his roommate, he probably would have said something so stupid to Noctis and Prompto was not in the mood to call Loqi out on it. 

It was then that Prompto heard a small buzz coming from the table. He quickly made his way over and there was Noctis’ name on the lockscreen.

“Hello?” Prompto said quickly as he answered the phone.

“Hey,” Noctis began. “Sorry! I managed to get a ride, so just send me the address to your apartment.”

“Sure sure,” Prompto began. He could not believe his luck. “Just hang on a second.”

“Alright,” Noctis began. Prompto could have sworn he heard a sigh of relief coming from the other end of the phone. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Can’t wait,” Prompto beamed into the phone. When Prompto heard the phone dial sound off, he quickly sent Noctis his location and waited for his Soulmate. He was a bit too excited and decided to head downstairs just so things would be easier. 

It did not take long, Prompto looked at a gorgeous black car pull up and Ignis waving at him from the driver’s seat. 

“Some help,” Ignis drawled while pointing to the trunk. “Noctis has an overnight bag.”

Prompto, who was practically salivating on the thought of spaghetti sauce a seconds ago, had now lost his appetite. “What?”

“He’s staying overnight,” Ignis shook his head but had a small smile on his face. “His father was a bit worried. You could live in a better neighborhood, but he should be fine.”

“Umm,” Prompto took a deep breath. “Listen, I know I said I was leaving, but I’ll be back in a few days… probably.” Truthfully Prompto did not know when he’d be back. 

“Noctis really wanted to see you,” Ignis sighed and gave Prompto a rather heavy duffle bag. “There is someone that is going to pick him up tomorrow for class. Probably Gladio, then he can come back home.”

“Seriously?” Prompto asked. Noctis had stepped out of the car at this point. Prompto felt gobsmacked, both for this sleepover and now because his Soulmate looked gorgeous in the dusk light shining behind him. How stupid was Prompto to forget his camera?

“You’ll be fine,” Ignis moved closer to Prompto and on instinct, he moved back. Ignis lowered his voice to a whisper. “I included some… things to assist you both if things get....”

“Eww,” Prompto raised his hand and could feel himself blushing. “Please don’t talk anymore. I’m a grown man. I pay bills. And _I’m_ not going to talk about this with you. Nope. No. No thanks.”

“Even grown men need protection,” Ignis laughed while Prompto felt like he was being chastised for his supposed inexperience. He had plenty, but Prompto had no idea if he was ready for this.

“Sure,” Prompto puffed his cheeks and shook his head. He finally smiled and looked at Ignis. “Thanks Iggy.”

“No problem,” Ignis waved at Prompto and said a goodbye to Noctis who patted his hand on the hood of the car. 

“Where are you?” Noctis asked. Prompto, realizing that he was still holding the bag, rushed towards his Soulmate. Prompto held out his hand and gently bumped Noctis, who immediately grabbed a hold onto Prompto’s hand. Noctis was smiling lightly in Prompto’s direction. Thankfully, the only giveaway that Prompto was nervous was his sweaty hand holding onto Noctis. He felt flushed and absolutely out of his element. 

“Let’s go inside,” Noctis smiled. He was tugging Prompto who was at a standstill, trying to remember how his legs worked. 

“S-sure,” Prompto nodded. He closed his eyes and was absolutely terrified. There was no way that Prompto could back down from this. Deep breaths were needed to calm himself down. He was going to cook and romance the hell out of his Soulmate, even if was so nervous for what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sister is set to deliver her baby any day now so if there is a hiatus, y'all know why. I will try and update as much as I can but I am on my Spring Break and I will be out of town for a bit. I also think it is poetic that I might leave this chapter as the last one for a bit when stuff is going to happen ^__~
> 
> Comments are lovely and I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!


	9. Hot Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys get fiesty...
> 
> (Gratuitous sauciness ahead...)

Maybe it was the fact that Prompto was viscerally aware of how close he was to Noctis, but everything sounded louder and the colors all around were brighter. The click of the microwave and the light that bounced off the walls all gave him a headache. He decided to ignore it as much as possible because there he was, his Soulmate. Noctis continued to smile through eating the spaghetti. They didn’t talk about much, just Noctis’ classes and how he had to hurry up and get to Prompto’s apartment. 

“I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone.” Prompto said that on the phone and Noctis paused and said he’d come right away. Even if it meant that he’d leave class early and Prompto urged him not to but it felt nice to be wanted in this way. 

Now, in this moment, they were side by side on the couch and eating quietly. When Prompto would shift his body to get more comfortable, Noctis would stop eating and tilt his head to listen. This was the way, Prompto figured, that Noctis would be able to watch him. He listened to everything, and maybe a small part of Prompto was worried that Noctis already knew the effect that he had on Prompto. Especially with what Ignis was trying to infer earlier...

“How was your day?” Noctis asked. He was still eating but was listening to the different sounds in the apartment. There was a small heater that Prompto turned on and he was focused on that sound and the sound of Noctis’ small chuckles and sighs when there was a lull in their conversations. “Besides having to go to Niflheim.”

“Well,” Prompto frowned. He was grateful that Noctis could not see the worry on his face. But it was clearly there in his voice. There was no way he could mask that because he had to try and sell what an amazing story this was. He was also so worried about when he could tell Noctis the whole truth. “Other than having to leave for a bit, it was kind of great. I even got some shots of random streets that came out well when I was walking around.”

“That’s good,” Noctis frowned slightly but put on a neutral face. “It kind of works out. You’d be distracting next week when I have midterms.”

“Oh,” Prompto teased. He shifted his place on the couch. “I’m distracting…”

“Well,” Noctis laughed softly. “You kind of are and you are not that bad of a cook. If Ignis did not major in business, he would have been a good cook.” Noctis smiled and realized what he said and hastily added, “I mean, this was also good too.”

“Thanks,” Prompto replied. “Cor taught me.”

“Who’s that?”

“My…” Prompto had no idea what to call him. “He’s… he was going to adopt me. But I was already 17 and kind of _old_. So I told him not to do it. But I guess he’s kind of my Dad?”

“Oh,” Noctis bowed his head and looked off to the side. “Did you want him to adopt you?”

Prompto thought about it. In retrospect, he had hoped that Cor did not listen to him and did it anyways. But Prompto insisted on it. He was worried that he would be hurt again. There were three times where he thought that he would be adopted but he wasn’t. The first family had teased it and put it off for a year until he was back again at the foster home. And he waited, got depressed and waited again until it really made him stop caring about being wanted. Prompto thought it would be like this forever. That was, until Cor came into his life during his 8th grade year. He was fat and miserable then. Things changed after that, he was given a home and he felt truly loved for the first time in his life.

“I’m sorry if that was kind of invasive—”

“Yeah,” Prompto said finally. “I did want him to. He still calls and texts me all the time. And I just visited him two weeks ago. Cor is weird though, he watches Apocalypse Now and lots of war movies.”

“Seriously?” Noctis asked. There was a slight frown on his face.

“Yup,” Prompto giggled. “He is a war veteran. I was kind of a hot mess before I went to high school. So he encouraged me a lot and I guess I got more confident. So it was good, but I thought he was going to leave…” Prompto paused and felt oddly emotional about this. He had never told anyone about this, even Aranea. So it felt weird to tell this to Noctis, but he was listening and didn’t say anything back. It was just weird to tell that part of his life to Noctis.

“Well,” Noctis said after a long pause. “I’m glad that someone cared for you. I thought that you did everything by yourself. Did Cor’s Soulmate help you too?”

Prompto allowed himself to laugh, but it felt hollow. “They died before I met Cor. He sees in black and white now.”

“Right,” Noctis nodded. It felt awkward again, Prompto felt awkward but he didn’t want them to hang in silence for too long.

“It’s okay,” Prompto smiled to himself. “Cor said that they were planning to have kids and then… you know. Maybe I should make it official someday. Because he’s stuck it out with me for ten years now, you know.”

“That would be nice,” Noctis smiled softly. “I’d like to meet him. He sounds kind of interesting…”

“He is weird,” Prompto frowned but it formed into a quick smile. “Seriously, war movies and lots of action thrillers on Saturday afternoons. He never talked about the war either, he’d probably be mad I was heading to Niflheim too.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Noctis asked. He had finally finished his plate and left it on a nearby coffee table he accidentally knocked into earlier.

“Naw,” Prompto said. “Maybe… I don’t know. I’ll text him tomorrow.”

“You should,” Noctis offered thoughtfully. “I just wish things weren’t so tense. It kind of sucks.”

Prompto nodded but then replied with a quick, “Yes.” He got up quickly and tossed both plates quickly into the dishwasher. “Do you want anything else to drink?” Prompto asked. He was nervous again. Even making his way back to the couch, he was nervous. There was the loud fan blades on the heater, there was the bright fluorescent lights coming from the ceiling and there was his soulmate tilting his head and waiting for him.

“No thanks,” Noctis replied. “Sorry again if I asked about a lot.”

“It’s okay,” Prompto took a seat next to him. Noctis shifted a bit closer and Prompto just closed his eyes and steadied himself for whatever was coming next. “Do you always keep your glasses on?”

“Huh?” Noctis asked. Once he realized the question he sighed and took them off. Noctis held them in front of his face and dangled them between his hands. “Yeah, it’s weird. I think it’s a safety thing.”

Prompto frowned but then he remembered. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Do you wear glasses?” Noctis asked.

“Only when I work,” Prompto stated plainly. “I wear contacts too sometimes. But I still don’t get what you mean.” He waited to hear Noctis’ response.

“When I was a kid,” Noctis began. “I overheard someone say something about my face. So I just asked my Dad for sunglasses and just stuck with it.”

Prompto, felt oddly defensive and devastated at the same time. “That’s so fucking mean.”

Noctis laughed. “It’s okay, I mean… it’s not but I just thought it would be better. It also helps with sleeping. I used to sleep for days and wake up for a whole day then sleep for three days again. I still like to sleep though…”

“Wow,” Prompto said in disbelief. “That seems cool… but I don’t think I could sleep for three days.”

“I’d love to sleep for a week at this point,” Noctis laughed. “I think after I’m done with midterms, I’ll sleep for a while.”

Prompto laughed softly and noticed that Noctis was still holding his glasses. “I can take those Noct. Unless you want to keep them on?”

Noctis handed the sunglasses to Prompto and finally, he was able to get a good look at his Soulmate’s face. His eyes were completely cloudy, but on the edges of his eyes, they were a deeper blue than his own. Noctis kept blinking and looking up and to the side. Prompto felt himself moving closer because he wanted a better look. There was a small scar on the left side of his face, near the farthest side of his forehead. Prompto took note of the moles on his Soulmate’s face along with his eyebrows and his lips and the way his hair framed his face. When Noctis closed his eyes and looked down then back up again towards the ceiling, Prompto wanted to capture multiple pictures of that small moment. He even wanted to capture the way Noctis moved his head to the side and the way he smiled lightly at nothing in particular.

“Has anyone told you that you’re really _really_ attractive?” Prompto asked seriously. He did not expect Noctis to laugh as hard as he did, but even Prompto wanted to capture that moment as well. He kept moving closer, enough that his knees was now brushed against the side of Noctis’ left leg. 

“Not recently,” Noctis laughed. He finally stopped laughing but he moved his face towards Prompto’s general direction. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” Prompto said breathlessly. He noticed Noctis moving his own body so that it was directly in front of Prompto’s. 

“I don’t know what you look like,” Noctis began with a hint of nervousness. “But I want to know.”

Prompto frowned and didn’t know how that would happen. “Umm… well…”

Noctis raised both his hands and reached up while Prompto moved closer. It took a second for Prompto to feel both of Noctis’ hands in his hair. “I think I went too high.”

“You kind of did,” Prompto smiled. Noctis did not move his hands and instead curled his fingers in and lightly massaged his fingers into Prompto’s scalp. It was nice and Prompto was not going to tell him to stop. Instead, Prompto closed his eyes and tried to move closer to give Noctis a better angle. 

Soon enough, Noctis’ hands left his head and Prompto was about to say something but he kept quiet. The fingers on his face were tentative and ghosted over his forehead first. It was gentle and feather-light. Prompto next felt Noctis’ hands brushing up against his cheeks. He kept his eyes closed and tried to feel this instead of watching Noctis. Maybe that was the effect his Soulmate was going for with this. He didn't have much time to think about it because then he felt one hand curve against his chin while the other one played with his hair again. He kept focused on the hand in his hair at first while feeling the other brush up against his lips. Prompto thought his brain might explode right there but he tried his damndest to keep his breathing steady. Noctis kept moving his hands to feel Prompto’s forehead and where his hairline began. There was no way Prompto could form a coherent thought at all...

“I asked if you were hot,” Noctis grinned. “Everyone said that you were. And now I know…”

Prompto kept his eyes closed but moved his hands to cover Noctis’ own. The whole room felt like the air was sucked out of it. The only thing that Prompto knew was that for as much as he was not out of his element when it came to flirting with others or dating others… this was totally different. One of Noctis’ fingers was still brushed up against Prompto’s lips and he took a chance and kissed it lightly. When Prompto did decide to finally open his eyes, Noctis’ face was dangerously close to his own. He didn’t need to take another hint and he grabbed Noctis’ hands and moved them away from his own face. 

“Can I kiss you?” Noctis asked while he closed his own eyes, completely ready. 

Prompto took a deep breath and kissed Noctis slowly. It felt different from anyone else he ever kissed. Sure, it was nice to be kissed and to kiss someone else. But everything about this kiss was different. His body felt electric. He felt hot wondered if Noctis felt the same way when he grabbed the back of Noctis’ head to deepen their kiss. Prompto continued to kiss Noctis and he felt both of Noctis’ hands going lower, reaching the small of his back,

When Noctis parted his lips even more, Prompto tilted Noctis’ head back and heard humming coming from both of them. Noctis paused for a moment, only to take a breath, come back again and bite the bottom of Prompto’s lip. Prompto, still aware that he was grabbing onto Noctis’ head, ran his fingers through that dark hair to return the favor from earlier. With every bit of grace he could muster, Prompto touched Noctis’ own face lightly and came in closer to kiss both of Noctis’ cheeks. When he looked up, Prompto saw Noctis close his eyes. Two kisses were pressed on both of Noctis’ closed eyes while Prompto heard Noctis’ own small laugh coming from below.

“That was—” Noctis stopped talking when he heard a click coming from the door. Prompto groaned and rolled his eyes as he heard that stupid voice shouting into the apartment.

“Well well well,” Loqi practically screamed into the living room. He narrowed his eyes at Prompto and Noctis. Prompto still had both hands in Noctis’ hair with his head turned towards his roommate. Noctis still hand both hands on Prompto’s back.

“I thought you had to work,” Prompto frowned.

“I got out early,” Loqi strutted into the room and continued to eye the two of them. “I think this is a bit unfair. You always yell at me for bringing home people. You should have put a tie on the door.”

“Why?” Prompto started to straighten himself out and stood up on the floor. He grabbed Noctis’ hand and his Soulmate took the message and stood up as well. “The amount of times I’ve seen your ass should be zero. _And yet—_ ”

“—Whatever,” Loqi shook his head. “Hi, I’m this loser’s roommate. Also named Loqi. And you are?”

“I’m,” Noctis paused but turned away with a shy grin on his face. “I’m… I’m going to go to Prompto’s room now.” It was a quiet, but Prompto had heard it loud and clear. The look on Loqi’s face turned from glee to absolute disbelief. 

“Oh,” Prompto said, laughing a second later at Noctis and at Loqi’s troubled face.

“That’s better actually,” Loqi rolled his eyes at Prompto. “No PDA.”

“Like with the couch?” Prompto asked triumphantly. Noctis snorted with laughter. He was tugging on Prompto’s hand and Prompto could not help but guide Noctis away from this obvious disaster in the making.

“Sure,” Loqi sighed with disgust. He walked closer to them, eying Noctis before Prompto had a chance to guide Noctis away to the bedroom. “Wait a second…”

“I’m blind,” Noctis stated plainly. He tugged onto Prompto’s hand slightly. “Let’s go Prompto.”

Prompto stared at Noctis and felt proud but also grateful because Loqi looked dumbfounded. This roommate, who Prompto still disliked beyond all belief, just laughed and shook his head at both of them. He, miraculously, did not say another word and headed straight for his room. 

“Wow,” Prompto said. “He finally shut up… you are a miracle worker.”

“He seems like a jerk,” Noctis sighed. He tugged on Prompto’s hand with a little bit more force this time. “Let’s go.”

“Okay okay,” Prompto laughed. Quickly, Prompto led Noctis down the other side of the apartment. Their footsteps echoed lightly and Prompto became nervous again with each step they took towards the his room. 

“Is he really,” Noctis began but he frowned even when Prompto reached the door. “Does he really show up with a new person every time.”

“Yeah,” Prompto began. “He’s a damn Zeph. Loqi’s Soulmate lives in Lestallum and Loqi is doing whatever he wants here. Isn’t that sad?”

Noctis shook his head and nodded in agreement. Prompto opened the door and made sure to lock the door once Noctis was in. Prompto let go of Noctis’ hand for a second to make sure that Loqi couldn’t come in but in that time, Noctis walked through the room and managed to bump his feet to the bed. He slowly laid his hand down and patted the bed before sitting down quickly. Prompto watched him and admired Noctis, even more so than he already did.

“Comfortable?” Prompto asked. Noctis nodded and waited. Slowly, Prompto raised his hand and grabbed onto Noctis’ own hands that were already outstretched. “Hey…”

Noctis was starting to scoot back and Prompto had to steady his breaths and maybe pass out because this was happening already.

“Did…” Noctis started to ask but stopped. “Umm…” Prompto had placed his body above Noctis’ own while his Soulmate was already flat on the bed. “Before me…”

“What?” Prompto asked. He had no idea what Noctis was trying to ask him. Despite this, Prompto carefully laid on top of Noctis while Noctis spread his own legs apart for good measure. Prompto felt like his resolve was nonexistent at this point. If Noctis was into some weird shit, Prompto would at least give it a try. He had different scenarios going through his head and hoped that would ease the silence between them now.

“Before me,” Noctis began again. “Before me… were you with… anyone else?”

Prompto was not expecting that question. In fact, he had somehow hoped it would not come up at all but he had no reason to lie about it. He just had to answer it and hoped that Noctis would not get mad.

“Yeah,” Prompto said tentatively. “Guys and girls…but I haven't really dated in years…”

Prompto watched Noctis and waited. At first Noctis frowned slightly and turned his head away. Prompto thought that he was mad but then Noctis just grinned and reached out to touch Prompto’s face again.

“I _am_ a little jealous,” Noctis began. Prompto thought he sounded sincere enough. “But it's okay…”

“You were with people too,” Prompto teased. “I don't know what kind of people but… they were probably people.”

“Gold digger people,” Noctis laughed. Prompto watched him and he was not going to lie to him because that was what cost them a good two weeks of not talking or being close like this. 

“I don't want to go,” Prompto said honestly and he had hoped his tone of voice was genuine. Noctis stopped laughing and kept brushing his fingers up against Prompto’s face. “I just want to stay here with you.”

“It’ll be fine,” Noctis said breathlessly. He wrapped his fingers around Prompto’s chin and kissed him quickly. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Prompto thought about whether to tell Noctis that he was investigating someone from the company. He also thought about telling Noctis that he should quit school and Prompto should take a job in the middle of nowhere but he knew that was stupid. This feeling of having Noctis beneath him and so close to him was overwhelming and he was thinking irrationally. He’d move the heavens for Noctis and hurt anyone that would threaten the most perfect person he’d ever seen. Because as much as Prompto wanted to stay, he also had to figure out who Ardyn was and expose him. That way, maybe everything else in their lives could fall into place.

Prompto finally lowered his body against Noctis’ and heard Noctis sigh even to that touch. They sought each other out again through kisses that felt like they were awakening their souls that could not feel anything up until now. Noctis’ hands were scratching and exploring Prompto’s back and Prompto had worried that Noctis would say something about his stretchmarks, like a past partner had done in college, but there was nothing. Just moans and pants between them as they were struggling to get all their clothes off.

Noctis insisted on taking off Prompto’s shirt. “Let me,” he said. And Prompto let him even when his head got stuck slightly before the shirt got tossed aside. Noctis’ hands swept over everything on that chest while pulling Prompto in closer. He repeated the same action to Noctis, who arched his back into Prompto as his Soulmate’s shirt was now somewhere in the room.

It started to become more feverish between them. Prompto continued to kiss Noctis and dig his fingers into Noctis’ hair and every breath between them was growing louder and bounced off the walls. It seemed like they’d boil over the longer Prompto kept sucking on Noctis’ neck to make a mark. Noctis’ hands moved lower down Prompto’s back and soon Prompto laughed into that gorgeous neck that was getting littered with bite marks.

Noctis moved his hands down despite the laughter, all their clothes were going to come off in no time. Prompto thought so anyway, so he shrugged his pants off and he was now so naked but Noctis had to keep up. So he pulled those pants of his off and listened to their laughter as it echoed in the room. Prompto took a moment to look at his Soulmate and he looked so beautiful.

“Come closer,” Noctis half-panted and half-pleaded. Prompto didn't feel as nervous anymore. He knew what to do, so he grabbed Noctis’ dick with one hand and watched his Soulmate arch his back to the touch. With the other hand, Prompto ran his hand through Noctis’ hair and tugged them into another kiss. Prompto was still on top and continued to stroke and squeeze Noctis, trying to find a good rhythm. In his concentration, Prompto remembered that Noctis had free hands too, and he felt one of them grab onto his own dick while the other one dug into his back.

After a few seconds, they both found a good rhythm and they alternated between panting into each other’s mouths and kissing each other. Prompto was mad at himself for thinking about the people he was with before, but just like the kissing and holding Noctis’ hand or just talking to him… it was _so_ much better. Cindy was right, how did he do anything before he was able to see. All Prompto wanted to see was Noctis moaning and writhing underneath him. Even Prompto felt like he was losing his composure in all of this. He was shutting his eyes and smiling whenever Noctis said his name. So Prompto moaned back Noctis’ back in reply. 

“I,” Noctis moaned into Prompto’s ear. “I… ahh… want… hmmm… t-to… hear you…”

Prompto felt Noctis twitching underneath and Prompto was already coming hard from that request from Noctis. It was overwhelming and watching, with half-lidded eyes, Noctis coming not even a few seconds later was something that Prompto wanted to tattoo into his brain forever. The thought of that made Prompto happy, that he was going to be able to see this for such a long time. They curled into each other even though Prompto reached out to grab some tissues to clean themselves off. But Noctis just wanted to kiss him, the mess be damned. So Prompto let him do whatever it was that Noctis wanted. Now, all Prompto wanted to do was touch his Soulmate’s face. He paused when his thumb brushed against Noctis’ mouth and it was kissed softly. Prompto moved his face towards Noctis’ right ear. Meanwhile, Noctis hugged Prompto’s body and readjusted himself to the head on his side.

“I’ll miss you,” Prompto whispered. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what this felt like if he had to stay longer in Niflheim than wanted to.

“Then don't stay long,” Noctis sighed back. 

Soon enough Noctis was kissing Prompto again and that haze of lust took over again. It was only nine o’clock and Prompto tried to savor each minute that they pressed into each other as the night wore on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so i miraculously busted this out in a day. But after this, I will be taking a hiatus but I will try and come back to this soon. Also this Chapter is named after Fiona Apple's Hot Knife. I think that sets up nicely to this chapter so give it a listen. It is a terrific song, one of my favorites ever.
> 
> A few notes about this universe: A Zeph is someone that has seen their Soulmate(s) but chooses to cheat or just not be with their Soulmate(s). Sure Polyamory can exist as well, why the hell not!? Also if your Soulmate dies, you stop seeing in color. So Cor is a sad ex army dude that tried to be a Dad and he loves Prompto and made him the confident but still nervous go-getter of today. I just threw that because Prompto deserves a good parental figure.
> 
> Just know that after this chapter, stuff is gonna go to shit so enjoy this happiness while it lasts. And maybe I'll be slightly more merciful once I am an Aunt, who knows? 
> 
> Have a wonderful weekend!


	10. Karma Police

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Soulmates separate...

When Prompto woke up the, he was blinking back the early morning rays coming from the windows. The blinds were not shut all the way. He smiled thinking back on the night before and he stifled a laugh thinking that someone a few floors below might have gotten the sight of him and Noctis going at it. Speaking of Noctis, he was splayed across Prompto’s chest and was absolutely one hundred percent asleep. Prompto even took note of a small sliver of drool that was almost going to fall on his chest. Before that happened, Prompto looked for his alarm clock and was grateful he still had at least fifteen minutes left to enjoy this sight.

Slowly, Prompto inched towards his cluttered nightstand. He put one hand on the small of Noctis’ back and with the other he palmed the mattress to get the camera that he knew still had some memory inside of it. There were two others: a polaroid camera and another old fashioned one that used film. Those would be useless here. After finally getting a grip on the camera’s neckband, he dragged the camera back towards his face. It was almost time and he had to get Noctis up. Prompto really wanted to get a shot of this.

He shook Noctis, gently of course.

After doing that a few times, Prompto began to giggle at Noctis frowning and gripping Prompto’s sides tighter. It was only when he tried to get up with both elbows did Noctis groaned in a manner so disappointing, Prompto could not help but laugh.

“Good morning to you too!” Prompto said in the most mocking tone he could muster this early in the morning.

“Ugh,” Noctis grumbled. “Good morning.”

“I wanted to ask you something,” Prompto said quickly. Noctis had enough presence of mind to look up, but he kept his eyes closed. “Can I take a picture of you?”

Noctis kept his eyes closed but his body was not as stiff as it was against Prompto’s chest.He was just about to break the silence when Noctis finally spoke up. “If you want to.”

“Seriously?” Prompto asked again. “If you don't want me to do it, let me know.”

“No take one,” Noctis said softly. “That’s your area of expertise anyways…”

Noctis yawned and put his face down against Prompto’s chest again. It was a perfect shot. The way that Noctis’ face and body was draped over his chest made Prompto feel like he needed to remember this face before he left. So he took a few while Noctis dozed off once again. For some reason, Prompto thought it was a joke that Noctis slept a lot but here was the proof. In about 10 photos, no less.

When the alarm finally went off, Noctis lifted his head and moved up towards Prompto. Just like the night before, Noctis felt around to make sure that the chin, cheeks and eyebrows were the same. Prompto wanted to ask if Noctis did this to everyone but he just let Noctis touch his way to get awake. Prompto smiled when Noctis cupped his cheeks. That subtle movement made Noctis smile in return.

“I gotta get up,” Prompto said quietly. Prompto kissed Noctis’ forehead and he tried his best to contain his composure. All he wanted to do was flop Noctis’ body back towards the mattress and miss his flight. He tried that move the night before to no success. Noctis bumped his forehead into Prompto’s hard. They both crumbled into a giggling pile of laughter and after sex glow. But Prompto knew that practice makes perfect and leaving this bed now would be everything that perfect was not. He was staring at it and he did not have the heart to get up.

“Me too,” Noctis whispered. “I have a study session later...” Noctis grabbed Prompto’s chin and kissed him again. It was like their first kiss from the night before. Prompto hummed and moaned again the longer Noctis kept at it. Their tongues were exploring each others’ mouths and Prompto knew that he could not keep at it like this. He had to go to work. It was exhilarating being like this with his Soulmate and he would never get any work done. The times he was with anyone else before, it was different. He was not hungry like he was now for Noctis. It made it all the more painful to break away from their kiss. He had to shower quickly. He learned then, that Noctis liked to shower at night and so that he could sleep a little longer. Prompto just looked at Noctis, who still had no intention of stopping their kiss. When Noctis tried to kiss him again, Prompto just moved away. He was disappointed too but also grateful because he had the most perfect person he had ever seen. Noctis, bowing his head, tried his best to get up as well.

“Where are you going again?” Noctis asked. He wanted to hear it again, Prompto assumed.

“To Niflheim,” Prompto began. He hesitated again. Prompto did not want to tell him what the true intentions where. But the other part of him wanted to scream it to his Soulmate. “Um…”

“Prom,” Noctis laughed while trying get up and out of the bed. “Just tell me.”

“Nope,” Prompto giggled.

“Come on!” Noctis laughed. “ _Come on!_!”

Prompto and Noctis laughed together and Prompto hoped that Loqi would wake up just to complain. At this point, Prompto did not care at all. All he wanted to do was scream to the entire city that he loved Noctis and would do anything for him. He even thought that if Noctis begged for him to stay, Prompto would fake every disease known to mankind to stay.

“Well,” Prompto stopped laughing and trying to calm himself down. He still had to shower and make sure that he was presentable when Luna made her case to the rest of the board. “Umm… can you promise not to tell anyone…”

Noctis tilted his head and did not answer right away. Instead, Prompto watched as he bowed his head and smiled at Prompto. “I won’t, I promise.”

“Well,” Prompto began but he still hesitated. “Umm…”

“Is it about how I am blind,” Noctis teased. “Besides, I never really read any news stuff. So don’t worry about me finding out about… anything really.”

“The thing is,” Prompto began again. “Me and Aranea… we are investigating umm….” Prompto bit his lip and then took a deep breath.

“Yes,” Noctis smiled. “I would love to be your feel good piece of the week.”

“You are not it,” Prompto snapped back but laughed lightly in spite of himself. “What I am trying to say… is that we are investigating someone in your company.”

Noctis’ eyebrows raised slightly and he stopped moving in the bed. Prompto shifted underneath his Soulmate awkwardly and tried to pretend that he knew how to explain himself. Prompto watched Noctis and he did not look mad, but he looked awfully curious.

“Oh,” Noctis began. “Who is it?”

Well,” Prompto cleared his throat. “That guy… Ardyn… I’ve never met him but Aranea did and he’s a creep.”

“What did he do?” Noctis asked. “I never liked him either. But my Dad said it would be good to hire him…”

“We have a good lead,” Prompto hesitated. He was not going to tell Noctis anymore details because what if this was a wild goose chase. At least then he could come back sooner. “But yeah… I really need to get up…”

“If I find out anything,” Noctis began. “I’ll pass it along.”

“Okay,” Prompto teased. “But that’s my job.”

“Whatever,” Noctis groaned but he got up as well. “Hey, I have an idea.”

“What’s that?” Prompto was already in a hurry to make sure that his duffle bag was ready to go. He also made sure that the outfit he picked the night before was also ready to go. He wanted to be comfortable on the plane but still professional for going across the world. Prompto was on his way to give Noctis back his clothes from the night before. “I really need to hurry… and I don’t want you to be late either.”

“Let’s swap shirts,” Noctis said quietly.

Prompto tilted his head as he held both of their shirts from the night before. He was going to offer to wash them but he instead watched as Noctis made his way off the bed towards the general direction Prompto was standing. He tried not to think about it too much, so he rushed forward and gave his favorite shirt to Noctis .

“We are not swapping pants though,” Prompto grinned while he watched Noctis put on his own shirt from the night before.

“Thanks,” Noctis said. “I’m going to call Gladio while you shower.”

“Sure,” Prompto smiled at Noctis and felt oddly proud that his Soulmate was wearing his own clothes and he wouldn’t mind if this was the start of a nice tradition between them.

***

Thankfully, Loqi did not bother them while they quickly ate breakfast and Prompto was able to get his things together. He did message Loqi about his impending absence. He did not want a repeat of last time, when he literally did walk into Loqi having sex with someone and his butt in full view. So hopefully his roommate would check his phone before that happened.

But Prompto knew better.

For now, they were both on the street in front of Prompto’s apartment. Noctis was waiting for Gladio’s car to arrive while he ate the rest of a bagel that Prompto practically inhaled. He really had no time but he wanted to make sure he could see Noctis get into the car.

“Call me when you get there,” Noctis said between bites.

“Of course,” Prompto replied.

“Even when I have to study,” Noctis was quiet again. “I’ll just say you are my study break.”

“Seriously?” Prompto began to laugh. “I don’t want you to flunk just because you want to call me.”

Prompto then saw the black car from the night before pull up. There was Gladio waving from the driver’s seat but he pulled up while the window came down. Gladio looked nice in his business suit and Prompto felt silent judgement coming from a growing smirk across Gladio’s face.

“Good morning lovebirds,” Gladio waved. “When you get back Prompto, we’ll go out drinking again.”

“I can’t wait,” Prompto grinned at him but then looked at Noctis who looked somewhere between nervous and angry. Gladio looked at Noctis as well, but he did not miss a beat.

“Don’t take too long,” Gladio murmured. “I’ll wait here in the car.”

Noctis shifted his weight but kept his body towards Prompto’s direction. “Right,” Noctis said. “Same to you Prompto… don’t take too long.”

“I know how to take care of myself,” Prompto said emphatically. “I’ll be fine. Cor even taught me how to use a gun. So if anything happens, I’ll be fine.”

“I didn’t know that,” Noctis grinned. “Then I guess I have nothing to worry about...”

“Hey,” Prompto closed the gap between both of them and kissed Noctis softly on the lips. Noctis pulled back but gave Prompto a hug, burying his face into the side of Prompto’s neck.

“Stay safe,” Noctis whispered into Prompto’s ear.

“I’ll be fine,” Prompto smiled but took a deep breath. The mix of Noctis’ smell with his own was too much and he tried his best to memorize everything about this moment. Even Gladio honking the horn at both of them was a great way for Prompto to ease his nerves about the whole situation. He helped Noctis get into the car and he put the overnight bag in the backseat. He just waved as Noctis and Gladio left down the street. He had a second to say that he was infected with a horrible disease but he did not want to do that now. It would be fine. Watching the car get smaller and smaller the further it drove saddened Prompto.

He really had to get back soon.

***

Aranea and Prompto were experts at getting on planes and going through customs and baggage claim. Aranea was sleepy just like Prompto. She told him while they were boarding the plane that she was going to sleep for most of the flight. Prompto yawned and said that he would do the same.

“So,” Prompto asked once they were all settled in their seats. There were some passengers still trying to find their seats. “How long did… you wait…”

“Wait for what?” Aranea asked. Even in her sleep-filled haze, her eyes grew wider when she realized what Prompto was trying to ask. “ _Oh_...”

Prompto felt his cheeks becoming flustered and he was absolutely horrified that the older lady that was next to them was leaning in a bit too close for comfort. It was never too early to listen to gossip coming from strangers, Prompto guessed.

Aranea laughed and laughed before she was able to get a hold of her composure. “So you two did the nasty…”

“It was not nasty,” Prompto whined. “It was _nice_. Really _nice_.”

“I think me and Cindy waited maybe two whole days,” Aranea smirked. “I was really proud of myself for that. Don’t worry, it’s totally normal.”

“I guess,” Prompto sighed. “It was way more intense than what I did before with other people.”

“Right?” Aranea sighed. “I thought that was weird. In retrospect though, not at the time. At the time, I was having a ball…” Aranea grinned widely and Prompto could not help but feel better about what he and Noctis did the night before.

“I just felt,” Prompto began. “I don’t know… I was kinda nervous but everything just felt super enhanced? I guess that’s the right word.”

“Well,” Aranea began. “I talked to Luna in the morning while I was waiting for you. And she said that she narrowed down our search so we might only have to go to the embassy and maybe the Hall of Records office. Point is: If this goes fast, then we’ll be able to sex up our Soulmates sooner!”

Aranea laughed loudly while Prompto covered his face in embarrassment. Prompto usually hated takeoffs, but he was glad that at least Aranea could be distracted with that instead of embarrassing him in front of traveling old ladies.

***

Luna was in her office, her freshly manicured nails prickling through the latest edition that she had for the paper. There were a few minor errors, but otherwise, they looked as though they would be presentable. She was aware that she was short-staffed and that she was looking for someone to cover a terrible hit-and-run incident that happened in the morning. She was just waiting to see who to assign. Prompto was gone and so was Cindy. She narrowed her eyes and settled on Dino Ghiranze’s name and tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. He would have to do.

She was so focused on completing the rest of her tasks that she did not her a knock at the door. When she finally looked up, she noticed a familiar face, which was Ignis doing a polite wave in her direction. She also made note of the other man she had only seen briefly. He had a wide grin on his face and waved in a overly dramatic manner. Luna opened the door and eyed both men and sighed.

“You know,” Luna cleared her throat. “Usually, I try and get tomorrow’s edition done during this time. It’s good to see you though Ignis.”

“Same here,” Ignis smiled briefly. He eyed the man he was with frustration while trying to look as professional as possible.

“This will only take a minute,” the man smiled at Luna. “Ardyn Izunia, my dear. You have the most lovely demeanor for someone working _so hard_. You should take a vacation one of these days.”

Luna stared at the man, Ardyn Izunia and tried to process what a ludicrous statement he just said to her. She also knew, that her two best journalists were going off to a dangerous place just to find more information on the man in front of her. As long as she kept her cool, it should be alright.

“You have thirty seconds,” Luna moved to allow both men to come in her office. When she shut the door, she wanted to talk briefly, because she felt an odd chill come through her office.

“My dear,” Ardyn began. “I will keep this brief: I know that your paper is investigating me. I know that you have sent two plucky reporters to find as much dirt as possible. Typical, especially for someone that has higher aspirations than just being a humble businessman.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny your assumptions,” Luna said cooly. She crossed her arms and eyed Ignis, who was taking notes. “Higher aspirations?”

“Yes,” Ardyn began to approach her. “I was hoping to run for a political office soon. I would hate for you to waste your time trying to find something about me which is simply not true.”

“Sure,” Luna tilted her head and held her nerve. “But the people should know if who they are putting their faith into, is someone they want to vote for or not. You understand though right Mr. Izunia?”

“Of course,” Ardyn said. “And you should understand that I still have many connections back in Niflheim. I would hate to hear if anything bad happened to your reporters.”

Luna took a deep breath and knew what this was. She had warned the two of them about Niflheim and each time they went, Luna hoped that they would be okay. Each time, she did worry but now that they knew the area well enough, there was no reason to worry about them. Now though, she was worried.

“I can neither confirm nor deny anything that you are telling me. I have to get back to work.”

Luna hoped that was enough, and thankfully, Ardyn had left the room. Ignis ripped out the paper he was taking notes on and put it on Luna’s desk. It was perfect timing, Ardyn was not looking and Ignis was in his element when it came to being discreet. He looked worried but he formed his right hand into the shape of a phone. Luna nodded in his direction and watched as the two of them left her office.

She did not know what the note had said, but she prepared herself for whatever was written on it.

 

> **Prompto and Aranea are in terrible danger.**  
>  **Tell them to go see a man named Dave.**  
>  **He will be in a blue car in Terminal 1.**  
>  **Tell them to avoid the terminal they land in.**  
>  **I will find more details soon** **.**
> 
>  

Luna bit her lip in frustration. She looked at her clock beside her desk. Their plane would be arriving shortly. All she could do was pass the message along and hoped that it was not too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back from vacation and I hope to get up another chapter by the end of this weekend. Still no baby, but hopefully it comes soon so that I can have a for sure schedule for updates. 
> 
> You can follow me on twitter at @peachynoctis and tumblr at @malinche. I usually update ASAP through there.
> 
> Have a great weekend everyone!


	11. The Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aranea and Prompto on the run...

Luna, without an ounce of hesitation, called another part time editor, to finish the front page work for the day. She went outside to her secretary and asked that he tell everyone that she was not taking anymore calls. Once that was done, she then closed all the blinds in her office and began to frantically call Aranea and Prompto’s cell phones. When the calls for the fifth time did not work, she used an app that allowed her to message and/or call the journalists that were in hard to reach locations. It was a huge risk. She wished there was an easier way to track the movements of her co-workers. When Luna could not stand to sit down and wait, she looked around her office to see if there was a bug. The paranoia increased once she realized that maybe a reporter tipped off Ardyn. Her brain was working a mile a minute because if Noctis found out that Prompto was in danger, she did not know how to break the news. It could not be anyone else, she had decided with dread. She would tell him because she is the boss and she would take responsibility for it. Same with Cindy, who she had met a handful of times. That was the risk of making decisions like this.

Luna looked Aranea dead in the eye and said that there was a huge risk to this story. There was still, somewhat of a cold war between Lucis and Niflheim. Not even three years ago, no one could travel between the two nations. However, businessmen like Ardyn began to make it a point to join forces for nothing else but to make money. It made sense, at least for the cynical side that Luna possessed. She was weary but optimistic that things would go fine. At least Noctis and his father would be okay and not affected by this. The paperwork and the people that spoke to her regarding Ardyn, made her come back to that cynicism again. She hated it but it was the reality. This man was no good if he was trying to intimidate her and her journalists. That was unacceptable.

The messages and the voicemails were not being answered. Luna just stared at her phone numbly and hoped that they would pick up soon.

***

The turbulence on the plane had been eerie. Aranea looked at Prompto who had now sat up straighter in his seat. He was nervous and always shut his eyes and gave himself an inaudible pep talk whenever they took off and landed. Once the plane began to skid its way to a stop, Aranea moved to turn on her phone and remove the airplane mode that was on it. As much as she would have liked to use the internet to goof off, she chose to get some work done and take a nap. Prompto did the same thing and edited some photos while napping on and off. 

Once she switched her phone on she was met with a barrage of messages. All from Luna and one from a number she did not recognize. She peered over at Prompto who raised his eyebrows curiously at her in return.

“That’s weird,” Prompto said while pressing around for his voicemail.

“Let me call her first,” Aranea began. “That way both of us aren’t calling her…”

Right when Aranea finished her sentence, her phone rang. With a quick swipe, Aranea picked up the phone and eagerly awaited for what was ahead.

“Hey boss lady,” Aranea began cheerfully. “What’s up—”

“—Listen to me very carefully,” Luna said sternly on the other phone. “Go to the baggage claim and get your things—”

“—What?” Aranea began. Prompto was listening to Luna’s voicemail on the phone. His eyes became larger and larger once he realized what was going on. Aranea still didn’t know but he watched around the cabin for anyone that looked suspicious. While still holding the phone to his ear, he dug around in his bag and found what he was looking for. He put on some glasses and a baseball cap and Aranea did not need any other sign to do the same. As she continued to dig, Luna continued her instructions.

“—Did you check in any bags?” Luna asked.

“Just two,” Aranea said, while watching the passengers in the front of the plane leave, row by row. Prompto was doing the same until their row came up. “We did the pre-boarding thing, so ours should be the first ones out.”

“Good,” Luna sighed with relief. “Get your bags and go to terminal one.”

“Okay,” Aranea continued to watch the passengers trickle out. She was ready to run out of the plane and Prompto was waiting to do the same.

“There’s going to be a man named Dave,” Luna began. Aranea stood up along with Prompto and quickly made their way down the center aisle. They waved quickly at the stewardesses who looked at them in an odd way. As soon as they were off, they began to jog towards the baggage claim. “He is going to be in a blue car. Apparently he has salt and pepper hair.”

“Gotcha,” Aranea huffed. Prompto grabbed her hand and with each tug, they began to run faster and faster through the airport. There were a few people looking at them oddly, but Aranea did not care. At least if something happened, they could be easy to spot on security footage. Cindy could ID her…

“Stay on the line with me until you are in the car,” Luna said tersely. “Please, I do not want anything to happen to you two.”

“Don’t tell Cindy anything by the way,” Aranea gritted her teeth. “Tell her I am fine and I’ll bring her a souvenir!”

“Are you nuts?” Prompto yelled back at Aranea as they began to climb quickly down the stairs. Prompto eyed the customs checkpoint and gulped. He refused to let go of her hand but Aranea squeezed it while she stared at the officer that was checking the passports. The officer was an old man that looked bored and ready for his shift to be over. Prompto, who was starting to sweat lightly above his brow, handed over both of their passports to him. Aranea smiled as widely as she could. As though that would help mask the danger that they were in.

“Welcome to Niflheim,” said the man plainly. “Any foods or liquids on your persons.” He looked at both of them carefully.

“N-Nope,” Prompto coughed. “Just running a story.” Prompto held up his press pass weakly and Aranea did the same.

“We’ve been approved already,” Aranea piped up. She dug through her backpack with the paperwork signed by the Lucian embassy. “If you want to take a closer look at our credentials…”

The man did not even bother. He stamped both of their passports after quickly looking at the press passes on their chests. When he handed them back to Prompto, he looked like he might throw up but he didn’t. He took deep breaths and then sighed while looking at Aranea with a weak grin.

“We got through,” Aranea spoke into the phone. “Seriously, this security is non-existent. Are you sure someone is trying to hurt us?”

“Rather be safe than sorry,” Luna sighed. “Ignis just said you were in danger. Aranea... don’t separate. Make sure that you have your press passes on you as well as your passports on you at all times.”

“Right right,” Aranea huffed. Unlike Prompto, she felt slightly winded. Cindy and Prompto were usually the ones that went to run or on hikes. Aranea preferred to do weights and a home workout video. She knew she might have to rethink her ideas around fitness. Especially if they were going to be running around a foreign country that did not care for Lucian citizens at all. 

“Hey,” Prompto tugged on Aranea’s hand. They were finally in front of the baggage claim. As much as Aranea wanted to let go, she decided not to. Prompto looked like he was about to lose his nerve but he took some deep breaths while looking around for anything and anyone that looked out of place. Aranea continued to breath and waited for their bags. “We are in terminal 3…”

“Yeah,” Aranea still had the phone pressed against her cheek. She looked around and noticed two Niflheim guards passing through the terminal. Thankfully, they were not anywhere near them. Prompto watched them as well but did not turn around to look at anything else. 

“Act normal,” Luna piped up. “When I was waiting for you two to land, I got off the phone with the Lucian embassy. Just make sure that you don’t do anything suspicious. And ask me beforehand if you are going anywhere for this story.”

“So what happened?” Aranea asked. Their bags still weren’t out yet. At this point, Prompto looked down at Aranea. She could tell him the information later.

“Ardyn came into my office,” Luna began. “And he said that he _knew_ we were investigating him. I checked for bugs in my room but I couldn’t find anything. So someone told him. I have no idea who. I was going to have Crowe join you two tomorrow but I cannot do that now…”

“Yeah don’t,” Aranea began. “Also Luna, please write a nice eulogy for me, will you?” She smiled but Prompto just shook his head and frowned deeply at her. 

“Luna,” Prompto said moving closer to the phone. “Please don’t listen to her.”

Aranea giggled slightly at Luna’s indignant sighs, but now Aranea was focused again. She pointed at the bags that were beginning to come out from their flight. Prompto grabbed both of their bags, while still holding Aranea’s hand and began to walk towards terminal two.

“Hey we are moving,” Aranea spoke into the phone. She saw two more guards, but thankfully they were moving upstairs towards the security checkpoints. “So Ignis… who is Ignis again?”

“Noctis’ bestie,” Prompto huffed. He picked up his pace when no one watched them but slowed down when he noticed a guard. “He works for their company.”

“At least we also have a snitch,” Aranea grinned. She was having trouble keeping up with Prompto but he looked ridiculous. He was carrying two duffel bags and refused to let go of her hand. His backpack jiggled awkwardly whenever he went faster. Aranea tried to laugh at how ridiculous this situation was. Anything to distract her was better than thinking about who was trying to hurt them. If she was going to die, at least she took some comfort in knowing that she was doing a job that she loved and she spent the night before with the love of her life. She’d have to remind Prompto of that fact later but he looked too nervous to think straight. With one last sprint, they were finally in terminal one.

Aranea looked around and did not spot anyone else. She just looked around for that blue car. Prompto was doing the same thing while looking outside of the terminal. 

“Let’s go outside,” Prompto said, but it sounded like a question. Aranea nodded at him and they both made their way to the busy roadways. Niflheim was dark and looked dingy. Nothing like the majesty of Insomnia. It did not help that their was a misty fog that met them during the night. Aranea kept looking for that blue car and was secretly happy that Prompto could see everything better now. But the fog made things a little bit harder.

“Do you spot a guy with salt and pepper hair?” Luna asked again. Aranea looked around and did not see him.

“Maybe if we walk further down?” Prompto offered. He continued to walk and walk, looking for the blue car.

“Aranea?” Luna asked, her voice growing with worry.

“That’s it!” Prompto shook Aranea’s hand. “Look over there.”

Aranea squinted. It was a blue car. There was a man, with salt and pepper hair on the phone. He pulled his window down and waved at them. He was across the roadway with a bunch of taxis on either side of him. He began to pull out to drive towards them. 

“Should we go closer?” Prompto asked. He was still looking around for guards.

“Maybe,” Aranea began. “Let’s cross that way we aren’t standing still—”

Prompto did not let Aranea finish and walked quickly across a pedestrian intersection. It was timed just right. Except for an officer eying them suspiciously. Aranea waved down Dave as he slowed down in front of them. Prompto took note of the officer but once they reached the car, he played along.

“I haven’t seen you in so long Dave!” Prompto smiled cheerfully.

“It is so great to see you!” Aranea mimicked the same sing song voice. She tried to watch Dave’s face for some sort of acknowledgement everything was okay. He nodded genuinely at both of them and Aranea felt as though her blood pressure was returning back to normal. She might even be able to talk to Cindy tonight about how ridiculous these precautions were.

Once the officer saw that scene between them, he turned around and walked off as they drove off. Prompto and Aranea were sitting comfortably in the back seat. They both sighed as the car sped off. Aranea laughed in disbelief.

“Hello?” Luna asked. She was still on the phone. “Are you two okay?”

“Yes,” Aranea said triumphantly. “Dave right?”

“Hey you two,” Dave nodded at both of them as he began to take the markers to get on the freeway. “Before you two ask. I worked for Caleum Industries around five years ago. I’m retired now. Ignis explained the situation.”

“And you chose to live here?” asked Prompto in disbelief. “After you retired?”

“My family lives here,” Dave stated. “Has for years. But I’m happy to help. You two don’t look like journalists.” It was an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Look,” Aranea began. “If it’s too dangerous for your family, we can find somewhere else to go.”

“It’ll be fine,” Dave began wearily. “At least for tonight. I looked that guy up while I was waiting for you two. I know some high up Nif officials. They gave me some info.”

“This guy named Ardyn,” Prompto began. They were on the freeway and Prompto turned around, still worried about the cars that might be following them. “Have they heard of him?” 

“He’s this old hired killer,” Dave frowned through the rearview window. “No good… he changed his hair and his name but that’s him… plastic surgery is never _that_ good. My friend, she lived here during the heydey of it. National news… but the government never seemed to care. The war made things worse, killing people included.”

“A killer,” Aranea said plainly. “Shit…”

“I know,” Dave began. “He’s an urban legend now. But back then… he enjoyed doing this one fucked up thing back in the day.” Dave looked at them darkly, his face contorting even further into a set frown.

“What?” Aranea asked. She already dreaded her answer.

“He used to enjoy seeking out people that found their Soulmate,” Dave began. “From what I heard, he’d kill one half and go to the funerals of his victims. He is legend in the darker circles of Niflheim. Everytime someone would get a lead, he’d disappear... then come back. They were all afraid of him. I think that’s why lots of people started to move out of the country. Then there was nothing for years. Almost a decade… but the guy I talked to… I showed him a picture of Ardyn…?” Dave paused and Aranea and Prompto nodded. Dave continued on, “I showed a picture of Ardyn to my friend. She knew a victim of his… that was the guy. But the government didn’t care to catch him… makes you think...”

“Holy shit,” Prompto frowned. He stared at Aranea who still had the phone to her ear.

“Luna did you hear that?” Aranea began. 

“I heard enough,” Luna said. Aranea started to take notes, in spite of herself. This was one hell of a story.

“Anything else,” Aranea asked Dave.

“Well,” Dave began. “Some people think he worked for the government, some say he worked for whoever was the highest bidder. But if he’s trying to run for office in Lucis it makes sense. You all have never heard of him before. It’s common Niflheim knowledge. I only heard about it when I moved here with my wife.”

“That creepy bastard,” Prompto said. “No wonder he doesn’t want us to know anything about hi—”

Aranea knew what that sound was. There was the screech of tires slamming the pavement. Dave yelled and she heard Prompto scream. All Aranea did was yell and brace herself. She felt a hard crunch of metal to metal. She grinded her teeth at the sound of it. Next was the glass on all sides breaking and shattering, she felt her face become littered with tiny pieces of glass going across her face. Then came the pain, her entire right side felt like it was squashed and there was so much pressure. She heard something crack and by instinct she tried to move but she couldn’t. It was horrifying but she tried not to scream. Even if she did, the ringing in her ears made her momentarily deaf. She couldn’t hear anything and she didn’t want to see anything. 

She couldn’t keep her eyes open, even as she heard Prompto calling her name...

Even Dave’s grunts and screams could not get her awake...

Aranea then saw the blonde hair she combed thru in the morning. The green eyes that winked at her as she heard that beautiful sing song voice. She could see the light freckles that were scattered all over her face. There was that beautiful smile that Aranea wanted to kiss and kiss again until she could not do it anymore...

She _couldn’t_ do it anymore…

Even as she was losing consciousness… she heard Cindy’s voice and nothing else. 

Her world was all black.

***

Prompto blinked and blinked and could not hear out of his right ear. He heard a car screech away and tried to think about what had happened. His body felt fine… moving his feet and his arms were the easy part but his back and his head were throbbing. Prompto kept trying to say Aranea but his throat felt too hoarse to say it. 

He opened his eyes and smelled oil and smoke. It was disgusting and he did not know how to get away from it. Aranea’s head was limp to the side of him but he tried to move and feel her neck... he could feel a pulse. That was good right? His hands shook as he reached for her hand and there was a pulse there too. He leaned forward from his seat in the back and checked Dave’s neck as well. His entire face was covered in glass... but Prompto felt a pulse too. 

“Prompto… run…”

“Huh?” He looked down and it was Dave speaking. He pointed to the glovebox and Prompto, shaky hands and all, reached for it. His back was killing him and he felt tears coming down his face but he got it to open. There were a few cards in there but there was this one shiny card that caught his eye.

“We’ll be fine,” Dave said hoarsely. “Just run… go to my friend… she’ll help you.”

Prompto, either through his sheer will of force… noticed the name. It was Gentiana. But that’s all he saw…

He had to leave, he couldn’t trust anyone here. But at least he could still run, he had to…

But he didn’t want to leave Aranea at all. She was still breathing but he could hear Dave telling him to run.

Each second felt like an hour…

Prompto debated over and over again…

He should stay because Aranea needed him to stay…

He should go because people needed to know about Ardyn…

Even as he looked at Aranea, he became upset. The rage of seeing her like this was awful. It made his soul hurt. What made him feel worse is that if something even worse happened to his best friend, Cindy would know immediately…

So he opened the door that was still working miraculously…

It was so dark. There was no one to guide him. The car that hit that had already sped away.

“S-say th-that we a-are on h-highway 101,” Dave sputtered out. He held out his phone weakly towards Prompto’s direction. 

“Okay,” Prompto said even though he was nowhere near okay. He waited for someone to pick up while also making sure that he had his camera ready and that he could run. When someone finally did pick up, he remembered saying that there was a car accident… two people hurt badly… send help quick… highway 101 near the airport…

He stood up and took Dave’s phone. 

“Run kid,” Dave grunted out. Prompto finally looked at him and his lower body was sandwiched in between the driver’s seat and the wheel. Aranea was going in and out of consciousness and her body was lying across the backseat. She was mumbling something but Prompto at least knew that she was okay…

“Run kid,” Dave repeated. “Run…”

So Prompto ran into the night. His legs hurt and his back was killing him but he ran. There was a neighborhood nearby with lights shimmering in the distance. Once he could reach there… he’d call Gentiana…

The only comfort he had as he hobbled down the highway was the distant sound of an ambulance…

Through his tears and the pain in his back… he ran… and ran...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry! 
> 
> .__.
> 
> (Just expect lots of angst for a while!!!)


	12. Wreck of the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Gladio to the rescue...

Cindy had waited for the familiar vibration to come from her phone but it was hard. She had other things to do. First, she had to check to make sure that the right shipments came in for the week. She also had to check that everything that they had earned last night was the right amount. Then there was giving all the bartenders their wages as well as making sure that they prepped enough for tonight. The cooks had offered her some creative ideas for Halloween themed meals for the customers to have during the month of October. She was also planning on having something for Prompto, because his birthday was also before that busy night of Halloween. She thought it would be fun to do something for him that day. Especially since Prompto had finally found his Soulmate. Cindy smiled while getting the cash registers ready with money for the night remembering that night she finally saw Aranea.

Her Paw Paw had told her that it would be hard owning a bar “this young” but he had confidently handed her the keys anyways. Cindy went to work and had no problem getting everything ready. Even with the contractor's hassling her over things that weren’t up to code and hiring reliable bartenders, that first week went smoothly. She told herself that even if she chose colors that did not match, the bar was open at night and there was no reason to get so hung up on something like that. The colors looked fine to her.

She was oblivious to everything that was not the bar that opening week. So when Cindy finished taking an order from a table of suits that were _way_ too obvious with their flirting, she had prayed the night would get better. And it did... when Aranea came into full view, Cindy almost collapsed to the ground. Her Paw Paw had picked the color palette for the bar and it came into full view. Aranea’s hair was glowing with the wonderful and deep indigo greys, blacks and pops of yellow that accented her gorgeous face. Her eyes pierced her from across the room as Aranea had formed tears in her eyes as well. It was the most surreal, mortifying and intimate moment she had felt in her life. As a young girl, she had hoped that moment would happen in a more intimate setting. Maybe seeing the love of her life at the grocery store. But this way, with the bar that she had pinched and saved every gil and had worked so hard for… to have Aranea see that and to see her for the first time… she had her doubts of ever feeling that good ever again. 

With a few minutes before the bar opened at three, Aranea looked at her phone again. There was no text. So Cindy waited…

She checked again when she took her break at five… and there was nothing…

When she checked again at six… there were fifteen text messages… Cindy did not know what to think. So she asked her assistant manager to take over while she rushed outside to answer the phone.

Once she was out in the cold, someone else was calling, an unknown number but Cindy picked up anyways to check.

“Hello?” Cindy asked hesitantly. “Who is this?”

“Oh thank goodness,” it was a woman’s voice but Cindy recognized it. “It’s me Lunafreya, I’m Aranea’s boss. I’ve been trying to call you.”

“Oh,” Cindy said with every ounce of worry she hoped would not come across through the phone. “What happened?”

“I am _so_ sorry to have to tell you this,” Luna began. Cindy held her arm against the wall and could already feel the tears pouring down her face. “Cindy… Aranea is in critical condition. She got into a car accident… her prognosis is good but I have no idea how accurate it is. I have been trying to get in touch with the embassy outside Niflheim...”

Cindy could not process what was being told to her. Maybe Luna told her some other things but she felt nauseous and terrible…

“Are you still there?” Luna asked. “I can come to the bar and take you to the times building?”

Cindy heard herself say yes but she was not sure. The cold and her tears were the only things she was consciously aware of at the moment. Vaguely, she did hear the assistant manager come to check up on her but she did not hear a word that was being said. 

From remembering the happiest she had been… she had nothing to compare _this_ to. Her parents dying all those years ago maybe? Paw Paw had told her to be strong and as a little girl, she had no idea how to do that. She had felt terrible for years. But she persevered but this was different...

This moment felt worse because she knew how terrible feeling sad could be. The only semblance of hope that she had was that she could still see the drabby red paint job from the burger joint across the street. A blue and red neon sign coming from the word ‘OPEN’ still worked. Cindy did not want to go back to being able to see in black and white ever again. 

She just let the sadness overtake her as the tears that were freely flowing down her face continued to fall.

***

Noctis was nervous but he had no reason to be nervous. Prompto had said that he would call and Noctis had no reason to think otherwise. There were plenty of other things to worry about. His cohort was working on a brief concerning an old case with evidence that was too old to be used in court. The numbers varied from country to country, but the statute for Lucius was twenty-five years. In other countries, like Niflheim, it was twenty but in Tenebrae, there was no limit. There was some confusion on this case because of the countries the assailant was located in when the crimes were committed. But Noctis was careful to look at the evidence and cross-reference it with the other documents he had found. 

Unlike his classmates, he was not willing to share the information he came across just because of what he dealt with all his life in academia. No one took him seriously and that was evident when he was awarded Valedictorian for his senior year of high school. The Salutatorian, some jock-type... that he could not remember the name of now, was so upset that Noctis was awarded the honor. He was convinced that Noctis received special treatment because of his disability and his wealth. Noctis took some joy out of giving his speech to his class and disproving whatever anyone thought about him. He truly did not care and it was an attitude that saved him once he moved onto college. 

No one took him seriously and ignored him… or worse: pitied him. He did not need it and refused to take anyone’s pity. Noctis refused to take the help given to him and often got into trouble for it, he fell or tripped over things but he was stubborn. He could always get up. When he played the piano, he heard the knock of when he would run into it. But it just showed him that he was in the right place. No big deal. 

That was until his father’s health was starting to become an issue for the company. His father had sat him down and said that he needed Noctis to take better care of himself and to accept when someone wanted to help him. It was the wake up call he needed after college because he had no idea what else do. Ignis had mentioned something about how Noctis might do better with a career where he could do something for the company. After enrolling in an LSAT course on a whim, Noctis did not look back and he knew his father would be proud. Noctis could work for the company, and look things up and write up cases and go home. He knew he would never become the CEO, but he would still be able to help as much as he could. 

Business law was nothing like criminal justice law, so Noctis just made sure that everything felt correct while he finished typing on his Mountbatten. It all looked legitimate from what he had typed out so far. Noctis excused himself from the rest of his cohort and went off to the student learning center so that an assistant could type up the brief for him. He felt really good about this paper and was looking forward to checking the messages on his phone. 

Umbra was helping him walk back outside the main campus of the law school. Noctis unlocked his phone and there was nothing. No messages and no voicemails. It was almost four o’clock and there was nothing. From what Noctis remembered, it should be almost night-time in Niflheim. Prompto’s flight _should_ have landed by now? He even googled to make sure, and it was nearly eleven o’clock in their time zone. The flight was supposed to arrive at ten. He was getting upset until he got a call from Ignis. Usually, Ignis never called him until after dinner or at night these days, but Noctis picked up anyways…

“Hey Specs,” Noctis said. “What’s up?”

“Where are you now?” Ignis began. “I have something to discuss with you…”

“I just finished school for the day,” Noctis said slowly. “Why?”

“It is an emergency,” Ignis began. “Stay where you are… I’ll pick you up.”

“What?” Noctis asked. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ll explain it in person—”

Noctis heard the click of the phone line going dead and remained grounded on the spot. He called Ignis again but there was no answer. 

“Umbra,” Noctis asked. “Find me somewhere to sit please?”

When Noctis heard the bark coming and a gentle tug towards the left side, Noctis began to walk with much more urgency than before. Umbra led the way as Noctis called Ignis back. There was no answer. Umbra barked back once more at Noctis as he felt a bench and sat down. Noctis instead called Gladio, who he knew would pick up the phone. 

“Hey Noct” Gladio answered. Gladio mumbled a bit to start talking but Noctis interrupted him before that happened. 

“Ignis called me and said he’d pick me up. But he’s not answering…”

Noctis heard Gladio groan at the other end. “Ignis should be in the building. He had to run an errand earlier with CFO Creep. But they should have been back by now…”

“Go check please,” Noctis pleaded. Maybe this did have something to do with Prompto not calling him. “Maybe I’ll get a taxi to take me there?”

“Do that,” Gladio said. “I’ll go look for Iggy.”

“Okay,” Noctis replied. Wasting no time, he hung up and called a cab to take him back to the company building. Noctis knew his way around the campus and walked with Umbra to the spot he usually took a taxi to get off of campus. 

He waited and got even more anxious. Umbra sensed this and laid his head on Noctis’ knee. The only thing that could comfort him was petting his dog. He called Ignis again and there was still nothing. When the taxi finally came, Noctis was a bundle of nerves. He croaked out the address for the taxi driver and continued to call over and over. Gladio didn’t pick up. Ignis didn’t pick up. Noctis kept repeating the pattern and hoped to hear his friend's’ voices. Even if it was something bad, he wanted to know.

That was when he heard his phone ring again. 

“Noctis,” Luna began. “I have something to tell you.”

Noctis heard the worry in her voice and was immediately worried. This had to be related to why Iggy was calling him. “Okay Luna…”

“I... am _so_ sorry Noctis…”

 

***

Ignis had a good poker face and it helped him when he knew something the other associates didn’t. He waited cautiously and methodically for someone to screw up. It was then, that he would find out a deal or two before making other associates from rival companies look foolish. It was a sign that Ignis was good at his job.

He thought of everything but he had no clue how to get out of this situation. Ardyn was on the phone with someone from Niflheim and securing a payment to that man. Ignis had no idea who was on the other end but made mental notes of everything that was being said in the car. Ignis just needed to find a way to get away for a moment. 

Ardyn just spoke with so much charisma that Ignis knew he had the ace in the hole. Ardyn had no idea who he was messing with. Gladio had been looking up some of the spending records that Mr. Izunia had accumulated throughout the years. There were years that were missing and money that would come in that made no sense. Gladio found payments to businesses made, in cash, towards people that Ignis could not cross-reference. There were inconsistencies that made no sense. Noctis’ father had asked Ignis and Gladio to do this for him. The CEO did not want someone that could not be trusted to have a part in their company. There were too many black holes in the records. Ignis knew the man brought in money and had a good way to make it. But this was not something that made any sense to Regis and only Gladio and Ignis could investigate this. Nothing matched the way it was supposed to. 

The night before, Ignis and Gladio found something else that disturbed both of them. It was the names of random people that were present in an old drawer that Ignis had looked through. Gladio did some quick google searching and those people were all murder victims in Niflheim. There was not too much information because it was during the time when the Cold War was at its peak between both nations. Ignis went a step further and discovered sketches of the presumed killer. The resemblance was off, but there was no mistaking that Ardyn and that killer had more similarities than differences. Seeing both faces together made Ignis’ skin crawl.

He had that as his Ace, at least Ignis thought as much. Gladio was working all day to find something to call the police with. If they were able to get Ardyn to jail and this new revelation could make Ardyn stay in there permanently, it would be another nail in the coffin. Once their car stopped, Ignis steadied his nerve. Prompto was in danger. That friend of his, Aranea, was in danger. Noctis was probably in danger as well. There was so much at stake and they could not screw this up. Ignis chose to ignore the potential danger he was in and just walked out of the car. The workers in their building were crawling out of the building and Ignis just walked faster. Ardyn would not dare and try something with the both of them in there. How could he? It was still daylight and they were in a secure building.

In spite of his misgivings, Ignis continued to match his stride with Ardyn’s. Ignis took notes and inputted the dates that Ardyn stated. When they finally reached their floor, Ignis had excused himself to use the restroom. The last of the workers were heading home for the day but Ignis made sure that the bathroom door was locked. He called Regis and informed him of his findings. He even sent photos that Gladio had made into a zip file. Once Ignis was finished, he called Noctis. Just when he was about to leave the bathroom when Ignis heard a knock on the door. He felt his skin crawl once Ignis heard _that_ voice come from the other side.

“Don’t you have a private office of your own?” Ardyn drawled. Ignis had nothing to defend himself with. He looked at the vents and if he had anything get Ardyn away from him. Ignis knew what Ardyn’s M.O. was… it was no secret that Gladio was his Soulmate…

Ardyn was that killer and Ignis was stuck.

He did not answer him, instead Ignis went to the soap dispensers and began to pour all of the contents on his hands. Maybe if he put some by the door entrance, Ardyn would slip and Ignis would have a chance to get away. The documents he and Gladio had found earlier were in a safe that was on the accounting floor. Ardyn was not anywhere near that floor all day. 

“A bathroom is a strange place to make a phone call…”

Ignis ignored the voice and tip-toed his way to the door. He began to lay all the soap on the floor and ignored the sweat that began to make his suit uncomfortably hot. 

“Are you sure you are alright Mr. Scientia?”

Ignis noted the growing agitation that was rising in Ardyn’s voice and thought that it was great to be that much of an annoyance.

“I’d hate for Mr. Amicitia to be without his Soulmate for tonight…”

Ignis tip toed back and looked at which stall would be the most ideal to make his escape. There were two rows on both sides away from the door but he had no idea what kind of weapon Ardyn had on him. Did he even have one? So Ignis went to the one furthest away but with the quickest path towards the exit. Ignis half-jogged to that one, putting both feet on the toilet. Noctis was calling him but Ignis ignored the call to dial 911 and hope that he could maintain his nerve.

“911,” The operator began. “What’s your emergency?

“I am in the Caleum Industries building on the sixty-fifth floor. I have evidence of our CFO laundering money from our company as well as hiring a hitmen to try and kill two journalists in Niflheim. He is trying to attack me in our floor’s restroom. The sixty-fifth floor… please send someone to help—”

Ignis heard a bang on the door and waited for the Operator to answer him back. 

“Does your building have a security team?” the Operator asked.

“Yes,” Ignis said calmly. There was another bang on the door. 

And then another. 

Ignis steadied his breathing, he did not know he was panting into the phone.

“Remain calm,” the Operator stated. “And we’ll be there soon. Stay on the line with me.”

“Alright,” Ignis said breathlessly. The next second, he heard a loud crack coming from the door. He heard more and continued to steady his breathing. He had to stay quiet. The bangs became louder and louder. The cracks on the ceramic got louder and louder until he heard footsteps… Ardyn had burst through and Ignis stilled his body. He tried not to make a sound.

“Where oh where have you gone off to?” Ardyn drawled. His voice echoed with an eerie bounce that echoed throughout the tiles of the restroom. “I am not going to let one person ruin my aspirations.”

Ignis lowered the volume of his phone and waited. The operator whispered to him to stay on the line. So Ignis did that while texting the head of security to come to the sixty-fifth floor. Ignis was even careful to make sure that his engagement ring did not bang on the toilet seat. He did not want to give his position away.

“The curse of this world is that no one can live without their Soulmate. You... must rely too much on Gladio. There is no room for _independence_. I am successful enough without one. Gladio too, will find success without you…”

Ignis had his eyes open and watched Ardyn carefully open the restroom stalls on the other side. He waited and dreaded hearing the footsteps echoing across the ceramic. 

“Gladio will have to work twice as hard to regain what he will lose. But look at the bright side: He will move on and this will build character. Don’t you think so?”

The Operator spoke quietly on the phone. Her words were comforting even in the face of this impending doom that Ignis felt deep within his soul. She kept repeating to stay on the line and remain calm, the cops were coming. They had to come soon. It took everything not to come out of the stall and try and attack Ardyn. 

“I don’t think Gladio will—”

Ignis heard muffled yells and grunts. There was a crash and then another. Ignis put his feet down and finally peaked in between the stall door. He opened the door widely and wanted to join the brawl at once. 

Gladio was on the floor with Ardyn, wrestling him down. Ignis watched his fiance as he tried to get ahold of both of that monster’s hands. A knife had bounced across the tiles and Ardyn tried and failed to get it back. Ignis was trying his best to see if he should interfere at all. Gladio tried his best to grab Ardyn’s hands but Ardyn kept trying to fight back. He would break free out of a hold and Gladio would change positions to pin him down once more. Ignis finally leapt forward and grabbed one of Ardyn’s free hand. Along with Gladio, he pinned his knee into Ardyn’s back and Gladio did the same thing. Gladio raised Ardyn’s arm up higher and Ignis did the same thing. They both looked at each other and Gladio smirked at Ignis. Ignis was too relieved to do anything but smile back weakly at Gladio. Ardyn yelped underneath them which made Gladio smirk even wider.

“Noctis is outside,” Gladio huffed. “I told him not to come. He came anyways.” 

“Ugh,” Ignis replied. His adrenaline was through the roof. “Of course.”

Ignis kept holding his position until he noticed some of their security guards starting to walk in. They along with some police officers began to ask them to move off slowly. Gladio and Ignis finally let go when they felt two officers attempt to put Ardyn into a pair handcuffs. Ignis sighed with relief. The two cops finally were able to pin Ardyn down. Ignis felt dizzy but did not notice anything else except Gladio. He was okay and Ignis felt a warm sense of relief flowing through him. 

“You don’t have enough to let this stick,” Ardyn huffed. “You—”

“—Shut up,” yelled Gladio. He offered a hand to Ignis who gladly took it. Gladio gave Ignis a back breaking hug but Ignis did not tell him to let go. On the contrary, Ignis felt like the hug re-energized him. He had no idea how scared he was until he felt himself shaking. Ignis’ adrenaline high was finally coming down. Gladio patted his back and continued to chastise Ardyn who kept repeating that nothing would stick. When Ardyn was securely in custody, Ignis finally looked up.

“Where’s Noctis?” Ignis said suddenly. The bathroom was filled with security guards and a slew of officers. One came up to Ignis to ask for him and Gladio to come with them to the Insomnia Police Headquarters a few blocks away.. Galdio agreed readily, but both wanted to find Noctis.

“I left him outside in the hallway,” Gladio said. “He’s fine.”

Ignis peaked outside of the commotion of the restroom. There was Noctis along with Umbra. The dog kept barking because of how loud the usually quiet hallway was. Noctis kept trying to shush Umbra but he kept moving the side of his head towards the door. He was probably trying to hear them.

“Noctis,” Ignis said finally. Ignis finally approached Noctis and took his friend by the hand which made Noctis sigh with relief. “We’re fine.” 

“Good,” Noctis took a deep breath. “That’s good.”

“We did pretty good,” Gladio beamed. He slapped his hand on Noctis’ shoulder which made Ignis grin even wider. “Unstoppable.”

“Right,” Noctis smiled lowly. “Right…”

Ignis watched the slow parade of cops and guards make their way out of the bathroom. One tripped slightly at the entrance and Ignis laughed a little at his original plan that did not go right at all. To be fair, after the soap dispenser plan, he had no plan for a monster like Ardyn. He was so grateful for Gladio. Ignis remembered the documents and was going to try and recover those documents along with Gladio before giving their statements. To feel the sense of satisfying relief flowing through Ignis made him so much happier. 

“Why are you all so happy?” Ardyn was being led out by the officers. They were all watching him, each one with a look of disgust on their faces.

“Don’t pay any attention to him,” Gladio spat out. Ignis felt his Fiance’s grip tighten around his shoulder and watched Noctis tilt his head in Ardyn’s direction. The smile that was there before was gone.

“Especially the soon to be lawyer,” Ardyn drawled. “Tell me Noctis… how do you even _know_ that your Soulmate is still alive?”

Ignis felt the air being sucked out of his lungs. He knew the fate that was set for Prompto and his friend Aranea. Right now, he had no idea if either of them were okay. He also did not know if Dave did pick them up at the airport. Ardyn was caught but how could Noctis even know that Prompto was safe? With Ardyn being led out of the floor. Gladio tried his best to hold Noctis up but Ignis did not stop Noctis from falling to the ground with tears in his eyes. There was nothing Ignis or Gladio could say to their friend that could comfort him. 

They had no idea what to say...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sister had her baby! Six pounds and eleven ounces of joy! ^__^ 
> 
> That's why there was a delay this week. I haven't gotten a chance to play Persona 5 because I have been taking care of this baby. Hopefully next week I'll be back to my twice weekly updates on this fic. I have already mapped out the ending and I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Thank you for your continued support! I am on twitter @peachynoctis and on tumblr @malinche.
> 
> <3


	13. Now and Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto recovers with a bit of help...

It was cold.

His teeth were chattering and he kept trying to figure out what hurt more. There were his arms that felt like they were wobbly noodles. His hands kept rubbing over them to make sure nothing was broken. The ribs on the other hand… totally different story. They felt raw and it hurt to breathe too hard or too softly. There was no way to win. 

Prompto’s ribs were probably bruised and his legs barely kept moving along. If he stopped now, maybe that would make him fall to the ground. At any rate though, Prompto could not see anything. It was foggy and late and the houses in the distance that looked close were now further than they appeared. He had doubts that any progress was being made. The only thing that he knew for certain, is that every fucking thing hurt. And it was freezing. 

Prompto tried to think if he had a concussion and how it compared to the one he got in high school when he fell off the theater stage during a play. His head was throbbing but he supposed it was the adrenaline keeping him going. He kept walking, forcing himself to keep moving as though that would help. Prompto could only feel good about one thing and that was that at least they had Ardyn nailed. He just hoped Luna was taking care of everything back in Insomnia. 

Ugh…

He thought of Luna having to call Cindy…

And Noctis…

Prompto suddenly stopped walking. He had reached the houses… maybe through his teeth chattering and his chest throbbing with pain, it was closer. But now the houses were out of focus. Even if he knew where to go exactly, he had no idea where to begin. The card only had Leffingwell Road and a number but who knew if he was in the right place. It was too foggy and being in the suburbs of a country that he had no knowledge of was no great comfort for him. He shivered when a particularly strong gust of wind hit him. Prompto should have flagged someone down for help but that would have been a mistake. There was no one on this road, especially this late. The headache that was now a tolerable thud, felt more excruciating by the second.

What if Aranea died? How could he go home and explain that to Cindy? She would never forgive him for something like that. If Cor found out about that, after hearing all of his war stories as a teenager, he’d be disappointed in him too. Leaving a friend there like that. Why did he do that? Prompto hated himself for leaving. The adrenaline he had was now gone and he felt himself falling to the ground. He felt the grassy sidewalk break the fall on his knees. His kneecaps and everything else was burning. Maybe he should have stayed and went to the hospital? But what if someone tried to kill him there? Would that have been worse than this pain he felt now? Everything was hurting him. No matter how much Prompto blinked, he could feel himself nodding off. 

He remembered the phone Dave gave him but he couldn’t keep his eyes open…

What if he dropped it a while walking here…?

Prompto felt his whole body finally fall to the ground.. He put his hand on his face and felt something wet. Was he bleeding the whole time? Were they tears? Who cared at this point. He was going to die looking like this. Underneath someone’s sprinklers as they came out the next morning with their cup of coffee. No Pulitzer Prize to accept and leaving behind a Soulmate that he only began to know. 

Maybe the homeowner would think he was a homeless dude that stole the camera? Bloody, injured and a eye sore for this picturesque neighborhood.

Maybe he would get saved? But Prompto blinked back those thoughts away. No one was going to save him tonight. Why would they save a coward that ran away?

Finally, Prompto steadied his beathing and drifted in and out of conciousness. Cold and alone...

***

“Hello?”

....

“Hello? Can you tell me your name?”

Who was this?

“I found you. You are in my home. I’m a friend of Dave’s.”

Another pause. Prompto blinked once. Her voice sounded like an echo.

“I think you have a concussion.”

Her voice was pleasant enough. And she knew Dave…

“I’ll wake you up in an hour.”

Prompto closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

***

“Good morning,” the woman’s voice said. Prompto vaguely heard the creak of wood as she glided across the floor. He was more aware than he was hours before. He heard the same pleasant voice wake him up over and over every hour, on the hour. The second time she did it, he was offered some tylenol. The third time, she began to rewrap some bandages to his head. This time, Prompto felt the sunlight coming from the windows and he was aware of how much pain his body was in. Car crashes were no joke...

“Hi,” Prompto said weakly. His voice felt hoarse and he swallowed twice to clear up his throat. “Good morning.”

“Can you tell me your name?” The woman asked.

“I’m Prompto Argentum,” Prompto remembered this too. Cor asked him this once he was in the emergency room in high school. He asked it again and again and Prompto got annoyed with it. Although, he’d rather relive falling off of a stage and embarrassing himself in front of the entire school than being in a stranger’s home with his body in shambles.

“Do you know where you are?” The woman asked.

“In Niflheim,” Prompto mumbled. He sighed and felt his chest hurt, so in the next breath, he steadied his breathing. “In a lady’s home? Right?”

“Yes,” the woman answered. “Do you remember what day of the week it is?”

“Hmm,” Prompto swallowed again. Their flight left Friday but today had to be…

“Well?” asked the woman again. “Do you remember?”

“It’s Saturday,” Prompto answered. He finally started to piece it all together. She kept asking him the same questions the night before. “Did I do fine the whole night? My brain works right?”

“It does,” she said. “I’m Gentiana, I told you that last night, do you remember?”

“Last night,” Prompto frowned. “It’s kinda… fuzzy?”

“Sure,” Gentiana replied. “I had to drive around but once I heard the police radio and heard an ambulance near the airport highway, I knew it must have been you with Dave.”

“Is,” Prompto’s eyes shot open. His chest hurt again and he felt tears coming down his face. “Aranea? Is she okay? I feel,” Prompto clenched his jaw and choked back a sob. “I left her..”

“It’s okay,” Gentiana’s voice echoed throughout the room. Her voice was so calm that Prompto felt better but he did not know if it was a lie. Was she okay? “I used to be a police officer. I’m retired now though. I have a bad habit of listening to the police radio. Your friends were fine, last I checked. However, I don’t know what their present condition is…”

It was better than nothing. Prompto sighed but still felt terrible. He shifted his body a bit and felt the soft feel of some sheets and looked around the room. The living room and couch he was on looked modern and chic. There were pops of red along with white everywhere. Vases and flowers were everywhere and it felt like a home right out of a magazine. With the right time of day shining in through one of the windows, Prompto would have loved to photograph it. The photos…

“Hey,” Prompto tried to reach out and tug on Gentiana’s hand. When he was able to reach it, she squeezed his hand gently. “I recorded… Dave talking… about Ardyn… he’s that serial killer…”

“Hmm,” Gentiana smiled. “Your camera is over there.” She pointed to a corner with Prompto’s bag and tattered clothes. Before getting embarrassed that a woman dressed him up, Prompto eyed her again. “But you are in luck, Dave contacted me because I was the lead investigator for that case years ago. It was awful, during the war, so many officers went off and we were short staffed and corruption was rampant. There was no way we could catch him. The officers that stayed behind could never identify him because they couldn’t see in color. Ardyn’s victims… the ones he left behind… their partners, husbands and wives, they couldn’t help us nail him.”

“Oh,” Prompto felt relieved. “So you know?”

“Yes,” Gentiana said softly. “It was tough, trying to do the right thing when everything was crumbling. But that’s why I retired.”

“Makes sense,” Prompto took a deep breath and sighed. He wasn’t crying anymore. “That’s great…”

“I am going to make a few calls,” Gentiana began. “I want to see if anyone knows about your friends.”

She had a phone…

“Hey wait,” Prompto kept holding her hand but squeezed tightly. “Can I call anyone in Insomnia?”

“That’s heavily monitored here,” Gentiana said sadly. “But if you make one call, it should be fine. Lots of people have family there, but I want us to be precautious.”

Gentiana let go of Prompto’s hand and he let her. She glided towards another table that had a landline phone. She brought it closer to the coffee table in front of the couch. Prompto saw an assortment of bandages, band aids, a sling that was not used and other ointments. He got a better look at his body and finally saw how bad some of the bruising was, he had scratches, fresh purple bruises over his chest and cuts and different scrapes along his legs. He looked terrible, but he was alive, which was good right? 

“Can you get that file?” Prompto asked. “Or is that under wraps?”

“I can get it,” Aranea began. “I asked an old friend I have to get me a copy of it. There are loads to sort through. He’s trustworthy…” Prompto saw her frown but she closed her eyes and kept them shut. “Get some rest and I’ll be back soon.”

“But,” Prompto whined. “I should call…”

Gentiana frowned. “Rest first, when you wake up… call. I’ll make my calls now then you can make yours.”

Prompto nodded, very grateful and feeling sleepier by the second. “Thank you.”

Gentiana was right, rest was probably better first.

***

When Prompto did wake up again, he overheard Gentiana talking on the phone. She talked in a hush tone but when she caught his eye, she pointed to the phone on the coffee table. Prompto  
Hedid not need another hint on what to do next.

Gingerly, he reached over and began to fumble around to remember Noctis’ number. Prompto tried the first number he could think of but the line went dead. The second time he tried a new combination but he heard a fax line at the other end. He didn’t memorize it and it was useless.  
Prompto was kicking himself, trying to remember. He heard the static dial tone but the numbers didn't come to him. Prompto just got his Soulmate’s number and now he was kicking himself for not memorizing it. He felt terrible, smartphones and texting made things so easy but in a time like this, when his cell phone was likely in a police evidence locker, technology was useless. Prompto did not memorize any other numbers. He was not sure if Cindy’s area code was the same as his or different. Was 8345 or 8435 the final numbers of her cell? Prompto was not sure enough to remember. What he did know, was that he had to call someone. Suddenly it clicked, he did know a number. He could never forget it. 

Very gingerly, Prompto got up by his elbows and sat up off of the couch. He winced at his chest and how heavy it felt. Gentiana mentioned that he should still go to the hospital, but she wanted to wait a few hours until she took him to a clinic that was not too far away from her house. How this woman knew so many people, Prompto wanted to know. But getting towards the phone was now the only thing he should focus on. 

Prompto picked up the phone and began to dial. He only hoped that…. Well _he_ should pick up the phone. There were so many rings that Prompto would have hated this to go to voicemail, but thankfully he did pick up.

“Hello?” Cor asked. “If this is a telemarketer… I swear.”

“Cor,” Prompto said hoarsely. “It’s me, I’m safe.”

“Prompto?”

“Yes!” Prompto said, he felt another flowing sense of relief. “It’s me!”

“Hell,” Cor sighed and Prompto laughed but stopped because it hurt. “Kid, I was _so_ worried. I got off the phone with your boss a while ago. Are you hurt?”

“Kinda” Prompto said. “I got into a car accident. But it was on purpose.”

“Hmm” Cor said in a huff. “If those Nif bastards hurt you anymore, I swear...”

“Please,” Prompto whined. His breath hitched in his throat and he finally was able to settle down. “Look, I don’t know if someone is monitoring this line. This place is not friendly to people that live in Lucis.”

“Right,” Cor chuckled lightly. “I’m glad you are safe. It’s a load off my mind.”

“Yeah,” Prompto laughed. Though softly, because he was still in pain. “I promise I’ll see a doctor soon.”

“You better,” Cor began. “You need to come back in one peace.”

“Yes sir,” Prompto hissed. His head was beginning to hurt but he wanted to keep talking to Cor. “Umm… Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything Prompto.”

Prompto hesitated. “Umm… well… my Soulmate, he’s blind… so he doesn’t know if I’m dead or not. Can you just tell him I’m not.”

Prompto heard Cor do his small chuckle again. “Absolutely. He’s that rich kid, Caleum’s the last name right?

“Yes,” Prompto yawned. He felt tired again. “That’s the one.”

“I’ll find a way to tell him,” Cor said. “Anything else?”

“You know,” Prompto began. He hesitated again, but as he just had a near death experience, he felt brave. “Cor… how long do adoption paperwork thingies take again?”

Prompto heard Cor hesistate. “Prompto… are you serious?”

“Well,” Prompto began. “I thought about it after Noctis and I talked about it a bit.” Prompto closed his eyes and sighed. “I… ugh… well… now that I’m older, I think it was stupid to get hung up on the parent thing...”

“Prompto…”

“So,” Prompto sighed. “If you still want a kid, I’d be more than happy to be that kid. You know… let me phrase that better ‘cause my head hurts…”

“Then you really have to come home in one peace Prompto.”

Prompto could not help the grin that was spreading across his face. If he did make it out, Prompto could introduce Cor to Noctis properly and under better circumstances. He had to get home…

“Yeah but I have to get Aranea, then I will come back…”

“I’ll find out more when I can,” Cor said. He paused and coughed a bit. “Prompto…”

“Yes sir?” Prompto said automatically.

“Just come home son…”

Prompto took a deep breath and hoped that his tone of voice sounded composed enough. 

“... Y-Yes Sir…”

***

Prompto woke up again, and he was slightly disoriented. It was already dark and Gentiana was still pacing around the house. He had felt slightly better than earlier. Gentiana managed to bring a doctor from a clinic to check up in Prompto’s condition. But this was hours ago, and with several prescription grade pain killers later.

“Prompto,” Gentiana began. “I found your friend. But…”

“There’s always a but,” Prompto winced. Maybe he should take another pain killer again.

“But,” Gentiana repeated. “I want to talk to a government official I know. Stay here and I’ll be back soon.”

Prompto remained on the couch, but he looked at Gentiana sadly. He should be doing his job but someone else was doing it for him. A retired cop, no less. But he watched Gentiana leave and go off and he waited. Part of him wanted to call Cor again but he knew he should wait…

What if everything worked out and Prompto was able to come home. Then Cor could help Prompto move into an apartment with Noctis. Prompto could finally get rid of the last crappy roommate that he’d ever have. He could change his last name and change it again? That was something else to think about. Prompto knew that Aranea wanted to marry Cindy soon. They wanted a small wedding, nothing too fancy. Prompto wondered what kind of wedding Noctis would want. It was surreal to think about that and he let those thoughts comfort him as he drifted off into sleep.

Prompto still saw the reds and teal colors across the now dark living room. Noctis was still okay and Prompto hoped that his Soulmate was waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A light at the end of the tunnel my friends. And if you noticed, I will be ending this story at 17 chapters. So we are almost there!


	14. White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto reconnects with his past and discovers what is coming in the future...

The harsh rays of the fluorescent bulbs was the first thing Aranea saw once she blinked a few times. She, on instinct, smelled what was around her and it smelled like stale detergent. The sheets and the gown she was in was not comfortable. Even the fabric was a bit itchy but there was no doubt that she was in a hospital gown. She tried in vain to move her head but a slight headache let her brain know that maybe that wasn’t the best thing to do. Her whole body was in pain and she blinked again. There was a sound of a heart monitor next to her beeping. With one eye open, she looked and saw the numbers changing, rising and falling along with Aranea’s breathing.

It was in that moment, that one doctor walked in and was chatting with one of the nurses. Aranea heard her name and blinked again when a light shined in her eyes.

“Can you hear me?” the voice kept going in and out. But Aranea heard a quiet and throaty “yes” that surely, came from her. 

“You are here in Gralea General Hospital,” the voice was still in and out, but much clearer. “I am Doctor Corium.”

“Sure,” Aranea said wearily. “How bad…?”

“Good news is,” the doctor began. Aranea heard a click and some papers from a clipboard. “... Well your leg is broken, but that is probably the worst thing about that accident.” Aranea winced and heard the doctor chuckle softly. “Sorry, that should have been switched. The good news: You had a concussion and some bruises, but otherwise, no visible signs of internal trauma.”

“So just some R & R huh?” Aranea asked. She sighed and was grateful it was not that bad. “That’s good at least.”

“There are some officials outside,” the doctor said in a more hushed voice than before. “I told them to wait. You are still not in the best shape to answer questions.”

“What happened?” Aranea felt like she knew but she needed to hear it from someone else.

“You’re famous,” the doctor chuckled. “You are causing a national incident my dear.”

Aranea’s eyes shot open and she looked around. There were some heads shuffling around outside of her door. They were pacing around, but that’s all Aranea could focus on at the moment. She frowned and tried to think of what to say but she hated that she was now apart of the news. Go figure.

“So what’s the deal?” Aranea asked.

“Well,” the doctor took off his glasses and began to clean them. “It seems like you caught up to some notorious criminal that is famous in this country. Unfortunately he is not here, but in your country. So the officials are working on that process. It’s complicated.”

“Says the doctor,” Aranea laughed softly. “Well at least…” Oh no, Cindy… shit… and holy shit! “Prompto! Where is he?”

“Who?” the doctor asked. “The man you were driving with was a Mr. Dave Auburnbrie?”

“No,” Aranea said plainly. “Umm… we thought we weren’t safe here. You know how it is.”

“No kidding,” the doctor responded. “Dave’s fine by the way. He’ll have to be kept for more observations.” Aranea winced but was happy to hear. “Well, I think now Niflheim will be much nicer to Lucis. That Izunia guy has become a legend. That’s why all those people want to talk to you. But, as your current physician, I’d wait.”

“Hmm,” Aranea looked again at the door and sighed. “Sure, but I need to find my friend. He was in the car with us. He escaped but I don’t know where he is.”

The doctor stared at Aranea and she tried to squint as an answer. “That’s dangerous,” the doctor said in a huff. “He should be examined. He might have internal bleeding and something broken.”

“Let those officials in then,” Aranea began. “Me and him, my friend Prompto. We have enough evidence to at least let them arrest Ardyn. Maybe extradite him back so he can go to trial. But I need them to get Prompto here safely. We’re supposed to talk to more people too.”

“Of course,” the doctor grinned. “When I first started interning, I had to do a surgery on a woman that was hurt by that guy. I tried really hard to help. But that one I remembered. He killed her soulmate. So, if you do have anything good, make sure you put him away.”

Aranea smiled but she felt strangely proud at the wealth of knowledge that she had.

“I also need to call my girlfriend,” Aranea said. “And after this all settles down, maybe take a two week vacation.”

“That sounds good Ms. Highwind,” the doctor grinned. He looked at the door and so did Aranea. She was wide awake. Her story, was out there and they had done the right thing. If this got her closer to Cindy, then so be it, this is what she had to do.

***

Aranea had fallen asleep after her short interview with the police. She was informed of a few things that she didn’t know. The first being that she wanted to go home as soon as possible. The officials, some stuffy men that Aranea did not know, agreed to that right off the bat. There were a few other facts, such as where he was being held and some other political matters that Aranea did not understand. The most important thing was going home and making sure that Prompto was alive. It was already late, almost Sunday night. 

Aranea’s doctor was adamant that she remain in the hospital for at least 5-7 days. Or was it two weeks? Aranea was upset at first, but the other stipulation to that agreement was being able to have some kind of tablet or laptop to contact Cindy with ease. She was surprised that the officials had agreed so readily. They were probably sick of fighting and Aranea was not shocked to hear that. The political reporters at the Times often looked exhausted and sick of their own speciality. Aranea was just grateful that they all looked like there was a collective look of relief between all of them during the treaties being signed years ago.

The officials even agreed to help look for Prompto which made Aranea sleep much better when they had left. She woke up when she was being moved to another room. In a way, she was already sick of being taken care of like this, how embarrassing.

Later on, Aranea was awakened again to a pleasant surprise when she woke up on Sunday. There was some less than desirable hospital breakfast in front her her and some blonde and spiky haired dude in the bed next to her snoozing away. Aranea laughed at Prompto, who was presently, snoring a little too loudly and had his hand covering his forehand, while with the other, covering his chest tightly. If only her damn cellphone wasn’t destroyed on impact with the damn car. This would have been a great gag picture to take of him.

Aranea kept eyeballing the door, as though someone would come in, but there was no one at the moment. She looked at the meal before her: some soggy looking pancakes, fruit and some eggs that looked like they had been cooking for a long while. Aranea mentally grinned at the fact that these eggs were probably the fake kind. Instead, she just picked at the fruit and hoped that she was able to at least take a few sips of coffee. 

***

He was standing in a white field, but it was layered with different colors that Prompto was starting to become familiar with. Blues, reds and yellows were mixing together and he was there standing before them. Usually Prompto knew when he was dreaming, but this sight was so amazing that he wished he could recreate it later. It was a nice view.

Prompto felt compelled to turn around and saw, what in all honesty, a weird looking fox. He had never seen that type of animal before but he turned around again. There was no mistake that it was Noctis. He looked so good (seriously good), even with his back towards him. Prompto wanted to call out to him and tell him to wait but he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t hear anything Noctis told him either. But he could tell Noctis was talking to him about something.

The colors were changing too, becoming brighter and more vivid the longer he stared at Noctis. But Noctis was far away from him now. Prompto tried his best to run towards him, but he was tired. Prompto tried so hard to make his mouth move but he could only form the word “No.” 

No, why is he so far?

No, why won’t he turn around?

No… why?

Instead of hearing nothing, Prompto now heard a loud bang. It got louder and louder. He heard voices above him and some doctors whispering overhead. Maybe they were nurses? Prompto pretended to sleep for a while longer but he could no longer stay asleep when he heard the voice of his lovely best friend.

“What the hell do you mean I have to drink decaf?” Aranea said with a huff. Prompto could not help but giggle. The room smelled worse than Gentiana’s house. It was stale and it felt overly plastic. He finally opened his eyes to complete the rest of the picture.

There she was, with a presumably decaf cup of coffee. Prompto eyed her and smiled, still in a haze. He didn’t know if it was the painkillers or the fact that her face looked so calm and open to him now but he felt safe for the first time in what felt like years. He was only gone for a few days from home. Prompto did not want to feel this old so fast.

“What’s up hotshot?” Aranea drawled before winking at him. She was elevated on the bed with her broken leg high up. Prompto frowned when he saw more of Aranea’s face. It was littered with scrapes and light cut marks from the impact of the window. There was a bandage covering the top of her forehead and despite those things, Aranea looked in better condition than he thought. He was so worried about seeing her in one piece that his smile began to fade right away.

“No crying okay,” Aranea teased, even though Prompto could not help it. He couldn’t tell if Aranea said anything else to him. He was openly sobbing and kept apologizing over and over again. Prompto could hear her say that it was fine and she was grateful that he was alive. But it did not help the guilt that Prompto felt.

“I-I... sh-should,” Prompto heaved. “I sh-should h-have st-stayed.” He said this over and over again only to be met by Aranea shushing him.

“You are being embarrassing,” Aranea said slowly. “Calm down. I saw them do something with your ribs. Stop crying. It’ll hurt...” Aranea sighed but Prompto could have sworn he heard her sniff once or twice.

“Okay,” Prompto tried to steady his breathing. “Okay…”

He didn’t know how long they sat there. He continued to cry and Aranea did not scold him. Prompto was slightly upset because as usual, his best friend was right. His ribs began to hurt again and he could not do anything about it. He just waited until he felt calm enough to speak again. By the time that happened, two nurses had come in to check on both of their conditions. When the same nurse, Danielle, finally left, he noticed two officers sitting outside their door. That calmed him down a bit.

“Did we get him?” Prompto asked quietly. Aranea, as a response, grabbed the remote that was near her lunch tray. She turned on the news and Prompto finally felt like his haze had evaporated. Their faces were both on the news. Prompto was amazed in one second, then upset that Luna gave the broadcast press a picture of him with glasses.

“I look terrible,” Prompto said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“I agree,” Aranea teased. “She gave a picture of you with that awful flannel shirt.”

“Shut up,” Prompto said in a voice with no force to it. They both listened as their broadcast brothers on the television. A famous serial killer that was once thought to be a myth, was now in custody all thanks to him and Aranea’s investigation. The evidence that they had presented was now on the television. Prompto turned to Aranea who looked upset because _they_ were going to be the ones to break this story. Now it was going to be bastardized by the same broadcast brothers. 

“They are dumbing this down,” Aranea said, more anger in her voice now. She shook her head and sipped on some apple juice box. “I swear, I am going to go on a rant when we both get interviewed on 60 minutes.”

“Or Dateline?” Prompto began.

“Or… meet the press!” Aranea grinned.

“ _Or_.... Oprah…” Prompto said for the final blow.

Aranea wolf whistled then giggled. “Let’s aim for that. Then try a documentary. This is going to be our residual check until we die Mr. Argentum. Go us.” Aranea raised her juice box to toast in Prompto’s direction. Prompto did not have anything to toast with her back so he just gave Aranea a thumbs up.

“”Let’s just get home first,” Prompto giggled slightly. He sighed and took a deep breath. His headache was not too bad but he felt terrible. Prompto was still not sure what to make of it all. He had a friend over at the Old Lestallum Weekly who was hurt while she was on a police pursuit. When Prompto finally met up with her around a year later on an unrelated case, she looked much better but had a deep scar on the side of her cheek. Prompto, who already had hang ups about his stretch marks did not know how to react to whatever the hell the scars on his torso would look like or if he had anything else on his body to hide. It felt silly, but he wondered about going home and what he’d look like afterwards.

“Excuse me,” it was the nurse, Danielle, but she was followed by two different officers. They had elegant badges adoring their white and red vests. Prompto tried to straighten himself up but he regretted doing that. He was still in a lot of pain so he just slouched in the bed and watched the officials as they introduced themselves. One was the current president of Niflheim, Caligo Ulldor (who looked much shorter than he appeared on television). The other, a younger man whose name Prompto did not know, followed alongside with a posh and composed look on his face.

 

“First of all,” The president began with a cough. “We are sorry for what happened. Things have been admittedly tense between our nation and Lucis for a long time.” The other man nodded but he had a wide manilla folder in his hand. It was thick and Prompto eyed it curiously. “We will of course, prosecute Azunia here first and hopefully other countries with similar charges will get their chance to prosecute him next. Additionally, we will make sure that you two reach Lucis safely. I want to establish a solid relationship between our two nations. This would be a good way to ensure that there is peace.” He paused and looked at Aranea who nodded sagely and back at Prompto who nodded as well.

“When can that happen?” Prompto asked. He was so eager to get home. 

“I would say a week,” the nurse said with confidence. “The Doctor was talking about that when both of you were half-asleep. He’ll have the final days and times for you, but considering both of your injuries, that would be an estimate of mine.” She was checking Aranea’s vitals and also looking at her chart. 

“We will accommodate you,” The president said rather loudly. “I have been in touch with the officials in your country of Lucis. They have agreed for a swap, Ardyn for the two of you. I have been wanting to catch this man for a long time. I only hope that we can make him quite comfortable in our prison system.”

Prompto laughed but it felt hollow. He really wanted to go home.

“There is just one manner I wish to discuss with you personally, Mr. Argentum.” The president eyed Prompto but he seemed to change from a seasoned politician to someone else that looked more human.

“What’s that?” Prompto asked.

The assistant that was with the president dropped off the huge file next to Prompto’s nightstand. Prompto eyed it cautiously, but he noticed his name written on many of the tabs. There were a few that said deceased on the side and it was then, that he really started to itch.

“The hospital ran some tests on you,” the assistant began. He looked at the nurse who nodded in the assistant's direction. “One of them was to check for a blood match, in case you needed a transfusion. The nurse was changing you and found umm…” Prompto felt even smaller than he did beforehand, but he still listened. “We found an interesting tidbit of information.” The assistant swallowed and looked at Prompto with absolute pity. “During the height of the war, there was a man doing experiments on some missing children in an area that is quite remote from the city. A disgraced scientist, he had done these horrible experiments, especially to young children. So we arrested him but to be honest, we had no idea how many victims he had. Some children would be born with physical or mental disabilities, horribly disfigured or would end up dead. The one thing that they had in common was this obscene barcode that he would leave on these poor children.”

Prompto felt like if he were any smaller, he’d disappear. He wanted to disappear and go home. He had to go home…

“You know what I am talking about?” the president asked. Prompto had no idea when he started crying but he was still doing it. He felt embarrassed, the leader of a foreign country was telling him about something he had already known about. But he felt like he did not want to look at Aranea even when this truth was spilling out.

“Y-yes sir,” Prompto said simply. 

“That file has all of your information,” the president began. “We had these saved. In all honesty, we find new victims every year.”

Prompto looked at Aranea, who just stared at him.

“We will keep this confidential,” the president began. “None of what was said here will leave the room. However, we brought this just in case you need a family history for health issues. The fact that you ended up in Lucis is astounding.”

“Yes…” Prompto said coldly. “Umm… this is nice to have and all. But I’d like to talk to my _real_ Dad and maybe my Soulmate if I can get a hold of him?”

The president and the assistant both looked at each other and nodded. Prompto wanted to ask them to burn the file but he thought that wouldn’t be the thing to do right now. After he got whole and healed, _then_ he could burn it all then. 

After the President and the assistant left, the only sound that could be heard was the static of the fluorescent bulbs in the room. Aranea did not say anything and neither did the nurse. 

Prompto really wanted to go home.

***

Aranea was awake and chatting with Cindy on the phone when Prompto woke up from a nap. Prompto was grateful for Aranea because she did not pressure him to talk about anything. When he started to talk, she would listen and that would be that. Prompto did hear her cry as he fell asleep after the officials left. But he did not say that he heard her. That was just not something they would talk about for now.

He woke up to an old cellphone by his table and some instructions for calling outside of the country. So he called Cor at first and talked to him for about an hour. Prompto told him the details of his crazy few days in Niflheim. But so far, everyone had been nice to him. He did not mention the file or that he was getting sleepy but he continued to talk to Cor who went on about a fight he had when he was a fresh faced 18 year old going off to war. The point of that story, was a reminder that Cor had seen the best after those fights. He won medals for bravery and met his Soulmate and was grateful for that time he was happy. But he was happy now and Prompto hoped that there would be many more years of that happiness.

The most important part of the call was Cor finally giving Prompto Noctis’ phone number. Cor said that he had to “search high and low for it.” But he was able to find it when he spoke to Luna again on the phone.

“That boy seems nice,” Cor began. “I talked to him already. I have to make sure he treats my son nice.”

“You did not,” Prompto laughed. He had to stop laughing because it still hurt. “ _Why_?”

“Look,” Cor began with a serious tone. “You two are going to buy a house, have a 401K and buy cars together. Is he financially responsible?”

“No clue!” Prompto sighed. “He’s fucking rich Cor I am sure he has an account that figured that out when he was in diapers.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Cor countered back. “Things could happen. You have to be prepared for that.”

Prompto allowed himself to sigh. Of course he was being ridiculous.

“Another thing,” Cor began. “He ain’t shit if he doesn’t pass the bar exam. I’m not going to have my son marry some kid that can’t pass a test.”

“He’s going to turn 25 in a few days Dad,” Prompto groaned. He was fully expecting a retort but Prompto did not hear one at all. “I am a kid too in that case!” There was still a pause on the other end. “Hello?”

“That was nice,” Cor began. “You called me Dad.”

Prompto realized this and it was his turn to be speechless.

“Call your Soulmate,” Cor offered. “He also sounded really worried about you.”

Prompto gulped and nodded. “Yes sir.”

With that a final goodbye, Prompto looked at the number he wrote down. Why did he feel so nervous? Prompto looked at Aranea who was still in a deep conversation with Cindy, from the sound of it. Slowly, he put in one number at a time. Checked it again to make sure that it was right and hit dial.

He answered right away. Prompto was relieved. _Of course_ he answered right away…

“Hello?” Prompto asked. 

There was a pause but then, “Is it really you?”

“Yeah,” Prompto answered. He wondered if the fluids that they had running in him helped with hydration. No one was capable of crying this much in one day. “It’s me.”

“I am so glad you are safe,” Noctis said quietly. 

Prompto tried to compose himself but it was hard to do that now. 

“I want to come home,” Prompto said. He felt relieved to say it outloud and not have the words bounce around in his head.

“I’ll wait,” Noctis said. His voice sounded like like home to Prompto. “Let’s talk.”

“Sure,” Prompto took a deep breath and began to compose himself. 

Prompto allowed himself to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late, but I had a terrible mental health week. It's almost over folks and I am excited for these last 3 chapters ^__^
> 
> Have a lovely weekend!


	15. Universe & U

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reunion...

Noctis was all too familiar with the sound of having his photograph taken. He remembered the sound clearly when he went for hospital visits after he was attacked. There weren’t laws then to protect children from having their picture taken. He had no idea how well known his father was and assumed it was the norm. It wasn’t until later that he realized how terrible it must have been on his Dad. That slow realization and the fact that people pitied him made Noctis feel so guilty. Hell, he still felt guilty about it. The newspapers that he read later in high school about his accident stated how difficult it is to raise a child that was blind. Whatever. What did they know?

He could do everything anyone else could do. Noctis was over that helplessness he did not have _and_ the damn clicking of the cameras. Ignis, with a gleeful tone to his voice, pointed out how funny it was that his Soulmate was a photojournalist. Gladio joined in on the teasing and said that Prompto first saw him while he was getting his picture taken in front of a lot of people. They knew it was something that Noctis hated the most.Noctis groaned and ignored his friends and their teasing. That memory seemed so far away now. 

At the moment, he paced in the baggage claim at the airport where a private jet was going to deliver Aranea and Prompto. The presidents of both countries thought it would be a great media photo op and that made Noctis’ skin crawl. He just wanted this to be private and not with everyone watching them. Thankfully, Luna was great about navigating the whole process with him. She let them know exactly what would be asked, how long things would take and if they were open to do any interviews with the broadcast media. Noctis felt this strong loyalty towards Luna and so did Ignis and Gladio. After their run in with Ardyn back at the corporate headquarters, Luna was able to secure the only interview with Ignis and Gladio. Noctis did not participate and insisted that he would not talk about anything to anyone. If Prompto wanted to, that was his own decision but Noctis had nothing to say for public consumption. Especially after what they had done to them many years ago. 

After Ardyn made him doubt whether or not Prompto was alive, he was crushed. He hated crying and did not do it for many things. His father had taken him fishing when he was a small child. He did cry when he could not do that anymore. When he realized that he could not see just how bad his face looked or the sutures on his back for himself, Noctis cried for that too. For a father’s day craft at elementary school, the students made picture frames. Noctis wanted to _see_ his father’s reaction and it hurt him that at age 9, he _couldn’t_ see that. His Dad comforted him that day, like a good father should but it still hurt him. After a while, Noctis could hide that misery well. His friends and family helped, of course, but he did wonder how he would be able to love his Soulmate, if they ever did come. 

When Noctis had finally composed himself enough to be questioned by the authorities, he went home. For the first time in a long time, he could not sleep. He stayed up for two days with his phone charged to a nearby outlet. Ignis and Gladio were so worried that even they called his Dad so that he could see Noctis. He was as gracious as he could be but it was no good. He felt nauseous and flustered. There was nothing he could do and he felt powerless to stop anything that was going on.

Noctis was _so_ close to finally getting something that everyone else got and now it was gone. Prompto was gone and that did hurt. However, lots of other people, especially after the war, had lost their loved ones too. It was common enough and Noctis entertained the idea, for a second, that maybe he could look up one of those support groups that were at the adult school. When he voiced that to his Dad, he scolded Noctis. “There’s still time,” his Dad had said. That was the only thing keeping him going at the moment. There was still time.

He waited and his father waited with him.

And he waited until he did receive a call from someone that Noctis _had_ heard of before. It was Cor Leonis and Noctis was not expecting to talk with Prompto’s… well, he _was_ his Soulmate's father. It was awkward and Noctis felt awkward the whole time. His own father was awake the entire time for that phone call (it was on speaker phone). Noctis just heard snickering from his father as Cor asked him question after question about law school and why he chose business law. 

The main point of the call was that Prompto was okay. Noctis’ stomach was not as tight as it was before. His father told him to get some sleep and to be patient. Prompto was alive and that was the one thought that lulled him to sleep after almost 36 hours of no news. After that, Noctis did sleep and he slept peacefully knowing that Prompto was at least alive. 

Then the phone rang again. Unknown number, but Noctis _knew_ that voice.

Noctis faltered and stuttered, his voice was not working. Neither was Prompto’s, by the sound of it. There was about maybe ten minutes of the two of them reassuring each other everything was fine. Prompto had said the same thing but his voice was shaky over the phone. Noctis did not hear the gleeful cheer in his Soulmate’s voice, only fatigue and dreary reassurance that everything was fine. Noctis, could not know for sure unless they met each other again.

For about a week, Noctis and Prompto talked for hours, or until Prompto’s doctor would tell Prompto to hang up the phone. Noctis tried to study and talk to Prompto at the same time but it was difficult. He could not focus at all on penal codes and contract violations. Noctis wondered if he could reschedule his midterms but he did not want this to be another thing he would need help with. Another bad thing had happened to him but he was not going to trouble anyone with it. He was going to take his midterms and if he bombed them, it was fine.

Prompto took an issue with that attitude and even said he wouldn’t call for a day. But that did not last long. Noctis still called and they still talked for three hours. Prompto talked about how Luna had given him two weeks of vacation after the paid time off for work. Noctis asked about Prompto coming over and Prompto got the hint and said he could move some of his things into Noctis’ apartment so at least they could be together. 

“I think it would be nice to see you everyday,” Prompto had said. “I feel like a stay-cation would be good for me. Cindy and Aranea are doing the same thing.”

“Gladio and Iggy are doing the same thing,” Noctis had said. “I think after everything that’s happened, it will be nice to have some quiet time.”

“You should study,” Prompto had told him. 

“Well,” Noctis had replied. “I _know_ it.”

It went on like this for a while until Noctis heard Aranea’s voice telling them to shut up. They had said their goodbyes for the day and at least Noctis knew that Prompto would sleep. Noctis did study a bit but it was no use. 

He took his tests but Noctis figured he’d call it a wash. Even the people that he didn’t talk to in class began to talk to him about the whole Ardyn thing. It sucked and he pretended he had other things to do. 

“Hey,” Luna’s voice brought him back to the present. They were all waiting. “Are you okay?”

“I guess,” Noctis answered back. He was arm and arm with his childhood friend. Noctis heard her hum as a response. She did not push it anymore. 

“I have to go and do work things in a bit,” Luna said quietly. “I’ll make sure you are in a place they can’t take too many pictures of you.”

Noctis felt himself becoming more relieved. “Thank you.”

“I know we couldn’t celebrate your birthday this week,” Luna began. Noctis forgot about his birthday, in all honesty. After his midterms, he just wanted to sleep and talk to Prompto. He did get both and a nice rendition of Prompto singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him before he went to bed on that day. “But I think maybe after things settle down, we should still throw a little party.”

“We could,” Noctis began. “Just hand over the gifts that you still have hostage.” Noctis heard Luna laugh. 

“I’ve been busy,” Luna giggled. Noctis smiled as she pinched his arm gently. “I’ll hand them over this weekend. Promise.” 

Noctis nodded as his response. He had heard other voices, familiar ones like Gladio, Ignis and Iris. He had heard voices he was not familiar with as well. He heard clicking photographs but he had hoped it was not in his direction.

“Come with me,” Ignis said. Luna had said a quick goodbye and Noctis heard her footsteps quicken as she walked away. Ignis had grabbed his arm and walked with him. Noctis felt the familiar pat of Gladio’s hand on his shoulder. 

“We have to wait until the plane arrives,” Gladio said over Noctis’ head. Noctis looked up at the voice and got even more antsy. 

“Any minute now then,” Ignis murmured. 

Noctis hoped it would not be for long.

***

Prompto was given a few strict orders by the doctors. He had told the nurses all about his Soulmate and they were so happy for him. But when the doctor overheard that, he was not as kind.

“You need to take it easy for a month,” the doctor had said. “I hope I don’t have to get more explicit than that.” The doctor paused when Prompto raised his eyebrows in confusion. “No running, no strenuous activities, no heavy lifting and no sex.”

“And yet _you_ went there,” Prompto had frowned. “Thanks a lot Doc.”

After Prompto had told Noctis that, they both had laughed. Prompto had agreed to stay with Noctis and he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to see Loqi or ask his dumb roommate to take care of him. Prompto wanted to ask Cor at first, but Cor put the idea in Prompto’s head before Prompto asked. 

“It would be good,” Cor had said thoughtfully. “If you need to stay with me, let me know.”

“Thanks,” Prompto had replied then.

Cor and Prompto had talked too about the adoption process. They’d have to do the paperwork when Prompto was back in Lucis, but everything was ready to go. It was just a matter of going to court to get all the paperwork done. With the amount of time Prompto had off, they’d get around to it and he was excited to sign.

The only thing that had bothered him was the manila folder that remained on his bedside table. Aranea had offered to look through it but Prompto had said no. He was going to do it. But he wanted to see what was in it first.

Two days before they were going to leave, he did look. Prompto had woken up early in the morning and looked it over. He went over page after page and consumed all the information in it. There was nothing specific that was not already said. However, the thing that he had wanted to know was if there was a name for his family. The real name and not the one he had to make up years ago when he wanted to get to Lucis. He had seen ‘Argentum’ in a magazine that he was looking at when the customs officer asked who he was. He didn’t give much thought to it afterwards, he was just glad he had made it to safety. 

As Prompto continued to go through the folder and there was nothing. Not a name for his mother or father. He knew his first name was Prompto because that was what that man had called him. But even if he knew his parents, those memories were gone. Prompto thought if he really wanted to know this information, maybe later on, he could check. At the time, he didn’t know if he wanted to know it all.

That night, Prompto told Noctis all about it. Noctis did not talk much but he listened to everything and asked if Prompto was okay. That was all Prompto needed to hear. There was no judgements and there was not a hint of disdain in Noctis’ voice. There was just understanding and Prompto felt really lucky.

The good vibes continued on the plane. Aranea said that she was going to propose but wanted to do that in private. Prompto was happy to hear that too. He was so happy that it made him forget that he did not really enjoy flying. Aranea also said that he was maid of honor and that she was not going to hear another word against that. Prompto agreed to that and taking the photos of the actual engagement. Aranea was as happy as Prompto had ever seen her. 

Prompto continued to shuffle in his seat. He just wanted to see Noctis. He wanted to see the joy on Aranea’s face when she would be able to see Cindy. He wanted to make new memories that were not of what transpired. He wanted to move forward.

He could hear his heart as he landed. It was drumming in his throat. The stewardess lead them off the plane but he had wanted to help Aranea get up and into a wheelchair. Aranea shooed him away though.

“I know you are trying to be helpful,” Aranea sighed. “But I overhead that doctor. No heavy lifting.”

“Fine,” Prompto said a bit too excitedly. They were finally getting off the plane. He was finally home and he could not wait to see all of it.

***

Noctis heard and did not care about the diplomatic relationships between the two countries. The arrival of Prompto and Aranea was being broadcasted over the televisions that were scattered in the baggage claim. That was not important. Prompto was not near him and he was getting annoyed and let the people around him know that.

Ignis and Gladio each took turns trying to keep him quiet but he just groaned as a response. 

“Where is he?” Noctis asked. He was beyond impatient at this point. 

“Well,” Ignis said quietly. “They are still getting seen by customs.” 

“Whatever,” Noctis murmured. “This is ridiculous.”

“You need to calm down,” Gladio chuckled. “Maybe he got lost?”

“Shut up Gladio,” Noctis shook his head. “Just tell me—”

“—There,” Ignis said suddenly. “He’s over there.”

Ignis was moving Noctis towards the left. They were all moving pretty fast and Noctis allowed them to move him. Gladio was behind him and moving him quickly across the tiles of the airport. Noctis, still slightly annoyed by the cameras, suddenly did not care as much about them.

Noctis overheard that wonderful accent of Cindy’s yell in glee. “There ya are!” 

Then he felt Ignis and Gladio let go of him.

Prompto was holding Noctis now, and it was that familiar smell of some kind of mint shampoo and clean soap. He heard a loud laughter of his Soulmate that sounded like a symphony in his ears. Noctis buried his face in the crook of that neck like he did when they first kissed. Noctis pulled him in tighter and he felt every positive emotion from the past couple of weeks hit him. Those times when he did cry in the past were because of sadness but this was _not_ like one of those times. Noctis took him all in and bowed his head almost in embarrassment because he heard other voices now. He was openly crying in public but he did not care at all. He was holding onto Prompto.

“Hey,” Prompto said quietly. “Can you not… hold on so tight… my sides still aren’t in the best—”

“—Sorry,” Noctis murmured into Prompto’s chest. Noctis did not say anything else, he just let Prompto hug him. 

Both of them swayed on the spot and even though there were other noises throughout the terminal, it was hard for Noctis to focus on anything else.

Prompto was home.

***

They were both in Noctis’ bed. Luna had to be the one to tell them that they should probably go now. She had joked that she did her best to try and _not_ have the media take pictures. But now, they were going to be on the front page of every newspaper and probably be on the news for a while. Prompto did care a bit only because this nightmare of an experience did not need more coverage. 

“Are you going to talk to any news people?” Noctis asked him. Gladio and Ignis had gotten some of Prompto’s things, but he would have to go get more things tomorrow. Now, they were both relaxed, with a chocobo blanket covering their bodies.

“No,” Prompto frowned. “I should talk to Luna about that too.”

“Why are you going to talk to Luna?” Noctis asked. They had gotten some sushi earlier but now they had spent the past hour watching the Lion King on an iPad. Noctis was not watching any of it, he was playing with Prompto’s hair and talking when he heard a lull in the dialogue.

“First of all,” Prompto said in a mocking tone. “She used the _worst_ photo of me. She used that picture of me with the glasses _on_.”

Prompto stopped talking to hear Noctis laugh. It sounded better in person than over the phone.

“And then,” Prompto continued. “I looked terrible in all the news pictures..”

“I don’t care,” Noctis giggled. “You look fine to me.”

It was Prompto’s turn to laugh. Noctis, who was holding his hand, squeezed it a bit tighter.

“And I want my camera back too,” Prompto frowned. “The two that I took with me got ruined. But good thing all the SD cards got saved. It’ll be good evidence.”

Noctis stopped laughing but still let out a few more quiet laughs. Prompto watched him closely now. He was enthralled by Noctis and having him so close again. Prompto was still in some pain, he had deep bruises on his sides that hurt and he was not happy that he could not run for at least another two weeks. When Noctis hugged him at the airport, he was overwhelmed by happiness but his ribs started to hurt again. His doctor told him he needed to steady his breaths. It was disappointing but it was what he was going to have to deal with. His back was hurting him too, but Noctis was trying his best to be attentive to all of his injuries..

“Didn’t your doctor say to take it easy?” Noctis asked. He frowned slightly.

“I have this great idea though,” Prompto said. He really did have a good idea.

“What is it?” Noctis asked. 

Prompto laughed. “It’s an.... Idea!” 

“Oh so you are not going to tell me?” Noctis asked. His pout was cute, Prompto thought.

“No,” Prompto grinned. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Fine,” Noctis said in a huff. “Don’t tell me.”

“I promise,” Prompto said. “You will like it.”

“At least tell me one thing,” Noctis whined. In the distance, Prompto could hear ‘Hakuna Matata’ playing in the background. 

“Well,” Prompto swallowed. “I was kind of hoping to use this media exposure to get someone to give me the chance to do a gallery exhibit.”

“Oh,” Noctis said. Prompto watched his face and could not read the emotion on it. “That would be good actually.” 

“Yeah,” Prompto said. His idea was good though. He had heard of it done elsewhere, but this was going to be a different kind of exhibit. It was something that he had always wanted to do. He only hoped that it would be good. Plus he would need Noctis’ help to pull this off.

The thought of throwing an art exhibit was not on his mind now though. Noctis was sitting up slightly against the headboard while Prompto laid on Noctis’ chest. Prompto loved the feeling of Noctis playing with his hair and squeezing his hand. Prompto was only vaguely paying attention to what was happening to Simba. Occasionally, Noctis would pull up Prompto’s hand and kiss his knuckles. When Noctis did this, Prompto would look up and smiled that Noctis would kiss his wrist as well. It was that wrist that had that barcode. Prompto hated that barcode less and less as they finished the Lion King. 

As they began to watch their next movie (The Little Mermaid), Prompto felt tired again. It was still really early but he started to yawn. It was in this moment, that Prompto realized that he was going to love this feeling.

Having Noctis kiss him and play with his hair, felt like home. Having them eat sushi with their friends and family, talking about what they would do tomorrow... it all felt like home. It was also in this moment that Prompto realized that he was going to do whatever it took to make sure this happiness would go on forever.

Falling asleep, now for Prompto, was filled with the great promise of what would come tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried a bit while writing this. They are reunited, be happy y'all! ^__^
> 
> Thank you for the lovely support as always.


	16. Anything We Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Soulmates settle in...
> 
> (Gratuitous spiciness ahead and I am not sorry about it!!!)

Between the phone calls, on camera appearances and the doctor’s visits, Prompto wanted to know when he could “do things” again. His overeagerness was biting him in the ass. He tried to do some chores today but he was a little bit tired. The doctor did say that today he was cleared for physical activity but he wondered when it would get easier to do that. At the moment, Prompto laid on the couch and tried to screenshot more numbers for art galleries in the city. He was successful, on that front at least. One art gallery did get back to him so he was hopeful. 

Earlier that day, Prompto was able to thank Gentiana for her quick thinking over the phone and Dave. Gentiana’s voice sounded amazing on the phone and she was eager to provide her old files for the new case being put together for Ardyn. From Prompto’s skype conversation with Dave, he could see a broken arm and he had a gnarly scar on his face. It felt good about being able to thank them both personally on the phone. The last thing Prompto wanted to do was to visit Gralea, but if he was ever there again, he’d want to at least take them both out for drinks. 

Even earlier that day, Cor stopped by to bring some snacks and the last of the things from Prompto’s apartment. Loqi, surprisingly, did not throw as big of a fit about the living situation. He was actually sort of happy about it, which confused Prompto. He had called a few days after things had settled down to tell Prompto that he was going to try his best to patch things up with the Soulmate in Lestallum. Prompto was not sure what to make of it, but he just wanted his security deposit back once the lease was done in November.

That was something else that Prompto worried about. He did not talk to Noctis about money yet and Prompto did not ask either. Cor said not to worry about it because things would work out just fine. The current living situation was going better than expected, Prompto had to admit that. He was getting used to Noctis and vice versa. Prompto had lived with plenty of roommates and that was just what he was used to. He thought that Noctis, was not used to him though. 

Noctis would jump when Prompto would laugh at something he was watching off of his phone. There were clothes that littered the floor and Prompto could not help but pick them all up. Noctis would go to sleep earlier than Prompto but Prompto woke up earlier. There was Umbra, who would bark if Prompto put the remote on top of the TV instead of the coffee table. It was also hard for Prompto to remember not to say “look over there” when Noctis wanted something across the room. In fact, Prompto stopped saying “look” or “see” because there was no point.

The apartment was so huge that Prompto was amazed that Noctis never got lost in it. His Soulmate had the whole routine down, as far as where things were and cabinets with braille labels marking every door. Prompto spent the morning just watching Noctis get ready to go to class and it seemed nice to think about when Prompto would be ready to go to work again. They could leave together soon. It felt domestic for it being only a month of being around one another.

There was still something nagging Prompto about Noctis’ behavior. That and the money issue, which Prompto told Cor about. 

“You almost died, you need to relax,” Cor had said.

But Prompto could not relax. He needed to go on his runs again or at least try and do something productive. In all honesty, he had told Cor he felt kind of useless. Telling the same story 5 different times to 5 different TV shows was tiresome. Being in the apartment and not being able to help out with chores made him feel bad. Not being able to move as fast as he was used to was tiresome but he remembered what Cor had said. 

It nagged at Prompto but it wasn’t _just_ about the money. 

Prompto just relaxed on his back and watched the afternoon pass him by. Playing video games all day was fun at first. The controller was on the floor but now Prompto wanted to get his camera and look through all the pictures. He had taken a lot over the past month of Noctis and the rest of his friends he was starting to know very well. Ignis and Gladio brought over drinks and they all played board games a few times a week. Aranea and Cindy came over on free nights and always brought tasty dinners. Aranea kept teasing Noctis about his “horrible eating palette” and Prompto was thoroughly amused each time it happened. Prompto clicked through those pictures and knew that these were new memories he would cheerish. 

It was then, that Prompto heard a click at the door and a gentle bark. Prompto smiled at Noctis who looked ridiculous with a hat that was slightly askew and a jacket that was bright red that did not match the striped black shirt he was wearing underneath. 

“What are you wearing?” Prompto teased. That was met with a groan from Noctis and a loud bark from Umbra.

“Clothes,” Noctis said gloomily. “I finally got my midterms back today...”

Prompto frowned but finally got up and approached Noctis. There was a frown on Noctis’ face but it seemed to lessen a bit when Prompto came closer. He gave Noctis a kiss on the cheek, however the same frown got deeper.

“Was it bad?” Prompto asked. Noctis put his umbrella in an empty box and started to take his shoes off.

“Yeah,” Noctis said slowly. He hesitated a bit before handing the papers to Prompto. It didn’t matter what Noctis scored but Prompto set the folder back on the kitchen counter.

“It’s okay,” Prompto said honestly. “You just need to pass the bar right?”

“Yeah,” Noctis shuffled his feet and looked nervous but nodded after he thought about it for a while longer. “I’m just…”

“It’s okay,” Prompto thought changing the subject would be better. “I just thought we could eat leftovers. Unless you want something else?”

“No,” Noctis nodded again while trying to find the cabinet with Umbra’s dog food. “Leftovers are fine.”

Prompto watched Noctis carefully and felt tense and did not know why. He just watched Noctis closely as they both got ready for dinner. Cor… his Dad was right. Maybe the near death experience was something that made things click for Prompto. 

He knew what he had to tell Noctis tonight...

***

Noctis was not sure if he could talk to Prompto about what was bothering him. He remained quiet throughout their dinner together. No one was coming over tonight but that thought did little to put his mind at ease. Noctis was already nervous before coming home. 

The second night that Prompto was with him, they had forgotten about bruised ribs and recovery times. Noctis had kissed Prompto too hard and pinned him to the bed. Prompto had to stop him. Noctis kept saying sorry while Prompto rubbed his ribs. That night scared him and Noctis felt tense and nervous. He called Gladio and Ignis and asked for advice but they thought Noctis was being silly. Prompto reassured him for at least a week that he was perfectly fine. It was an honest mistake.

Noctis felt terrible but tried his best to be in good spirits. Receiving the midterm scores from the days that Prompto went missing made Noctis feel terrible. He usually scored pretty well and he knew it was because of the fact that he should have asked for help. He should have asked for an extension but his pride said no and he felt bad about it. There was a small part of him that wondered if maybe Prompto had made a mistake and he looked at someone else instead. 

Noctis felt Prompto continue to bump his shoulders while he talked about this gallery that would be ready in a year. Prompto thought that would be enough time to get his project done. He was happy about it and it made Noctis feel like he could not eat anymore of the noodles from the night before.

“Are you okay?” Prompto asked.

Noctis put his fork down and waited a bit before answering. “I don’t know…”

Noctis heard Prompto put his fork down before inching forward even more. “Is it because I need to pay rent?” Prompto paused for a beat before continuing, “I _have_ money and I know the rent on this place is ridiculous. But I can pay the electric bill and the water bill when my other lease is up!”

Noctis started to laugh while he heard Prompto whine a bit. 

“Noct!” Prompto whined again. “What is it then? Is it the test? Because you can just study and I can help you even though you sound like a weirdo when you talk about briefs.”

“Prompto stop,” Noctis felt his giggles start to wind down a bit. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” Prompto asked. “You can tell me.”

Noctis was not sure how to say it properly. He had hoped that Prompto would pick up on it, but Noctis did not think that was going to happen.

“I just feel,” Noctis really did not want to say it aloud. But Prompto was reaching down to grab a hold of his hand. So he let Prompto take it and tried to remember how to say it. “I feel like I’m disappointing you…” 

Prompto did not say nothing for a while. But he finally spoke when Noctis heard the metal fork clang against a bowl. “What?”

“... forget it”

“No you are _not_ ,” Prompto said emphatically. “You aren’t a disappointment at all. I never thought that for a second.”

“Just forget it,” Noctis repeated again. He was trying to shake off Prompto’s hand but his Soulmate just squeezed Noctis’ hand even tighter.

“Hey,” Prompto said calmly. “Well… if anyone is the fuck up it’s me. I have been playing all your old and dusty video games for a month. _And_ talking to people. _And_ sleeping and not running at all. This staycation is great but... I feel like a bum.”

“Prom…” Noctis decided not to tell Prompto another word but he did lay his head on Prompto’s shoulder. They stayed like that for a while until Prompto moved Noctis’ bangs and kissed his forehead carefully. Their hands were still holding onto each other as Noctis lifted his head. With his free hand, Noctis felt around for Prompto’s face. It only took another moment for Prompto to close the distance between them. 

Prompto was kissing him but Noctis tried to hold back as much as he could. Their kisses were more chaste and Noctis still felt like he was going to hurt him in some way. He backed of a bit.

“Noct?” Prompto asked softly. Noctis felt like moving away from Prompto but he just couldn’t.

“I want...” Noctis was not going to finish that sentence either. He felt embarrassed and mentally kicked himself for saying anything.

“ _Oh._ Come with me then,” Prompto said suddenly standing. “If that’s why you are in a mood, let’s do it.”

“W-wait,” Noctis stammered. “I thought you couldn’t—”

“—I can!” Prompto sounded indignant. Without letting go of Noctis’ hand, Prompto was walking in the direction of the bedroom. Noctis followed behind and could not help but grin. “I just… you know, I just need to go _slow_.”

“Seriously?” Noctis asked again. He had to be sure because he did not remember how things were before Prompto came into his life. Noctis did not want to think about when he thought he lost him. Maybe it had been that long. 

“I called the doctor today,” Prompto said cheerfully. “I talked to a lot of people today actually. Anyways, the doctor gave me the all clear.” Prompto’s voice dropped a bit, a serious tone to it. “Is that why you are in a _mood_?”

“I’m not in a _mood_ ,” Noctis huffed. Prompto sat Noctis down on the bed and kissed him again. Prompto hummed into Noctis’ mouth as the kiss deepened after a few minutes. Noctis let Prompto settle himself in between Noctis’ legs and they both paused, because it really had been a while since this had happened. He began to forget what he was so hung up over as Noctis felt Prompto’s hands roam over his torso and felt some fingers slip beneath his shirt. Noctis did not want to say what all of this was about because maybe he was in a mood. Whatever the hell that was. Still, it felt nice to let his hands roam around Prompto’s back while he kept trying to kiss Prompto as deeply as he could.

Prompto seemed to realize how long it had been and continued to bite at Noctis’ lips and kiss his jaw while his hands continued to roam around Noctis’ chest. Finally, Prompto broke the kiss and pulled Noctis’ shirt off.

“Just an FYI,” Prompto pressed his face into Noctis’ neck while pushing Noctis to lie on the bed. “If you are grumpy ‘cause I couldn’t have sex with you, I am going to remember that for later.”

“—Shut up—”

“—If you were that mad I could have just given you some hand jobs—”

“—Prompto!” Noctis gritted his teeth but he heard Prompto giggle while he began to tease Noctis’ growing length by lightly touching Noctis’ thighs. In fact, Prompto was touching everywhere except where Noctis wanted those hands to be. 

“I don’t think you could ever disappoint me,” Prompto whispered into Noctis’ ear. “You are amazing.”

Noctis did not believe Prompto one bit. “Okay…”

“Dude!” Prompto exclaimed. “Shit if anyone should feel inadequate in this relationship it should be me. I am poor, I have to stop calling my dad by his first name and I couldn’t finish our stupid story for my job.”

Noctis thought about telling Prompto that he had a job that he loved, that those parental hangups were understandable and that he helped solve a decades long mystery involving a creep. But Noctis assumed that was the point. They were both insecure about different things. That thought Noctis had about this being some sort of a weird divine prank on him was washed away. All he wanted was Prompto to press up against him and say Prompto’s name for the rest of the night. Noctis wanted to forget that he knew any other words. Maybe Prompto could read his mind and Noctis felt Prompto’s nose brush up his cheek as his Soulmate kissed him again. 

“Prompto…”

Noctis could feel Prompto start to tug on his jeans but Noctis wanted them to be even and they weren’t even close to that yet. Quickly, Noctis reached up and found the hem of Prompto’s shirt. They were even once Prompto’s shirt came off and was tossed away somewhere in the room. Noctis managed to find a nice spot on Prompto’s neck to suck on after he continued to kiss his Soulmate. Prompto moaned quietly and began to rock his hips in an unsteady pace but Noctis still loved every second of it.

“N-noct…” Prompto stammered. Noctis could hear Prompto’s question but he continued to leave marks all across Prompto’s neck. “Wha-ahh… w-what do you want?” 

“Hmm?” Noctis continued to move lower. He wondered how the hickies looked like but Noctis knew that he wanted to leave more. The only thing on Noctis’ mind was to continue to kiss any part of Prompto’s body that he could reach. 

“N-noct?!” Prompto said with more urgency than before. Noct still hadn't answered his question but he grabbed Prompto’s left hand. Prompto’s palm held onto the back of Noctis’ hand tightly as Noctis moved their hands down further behind Noctis’ body. Noctis raised one leg so that Prompto could feel exactly where Noctis wanted to be touched. Prompto stilled immediately, no more grinding or moving of his hips when Noctis put Prompto’s hands in between Noctis’ ass.

“You’ve done this before right?” Noctis asked. Prompto rubbed lightly but Noctis could hear a chuckle. Noctis was now cognizantly aware of the pounding in his ears. He was also aware that there was really no other way to ask for this. 

“Catching?” Prompto asked. “Yes. Pitching, also yes.” There was a pause. “It’ll hurt though Noct, I could... you _know_ …”

Noctis swallowed but he felt better that at least Prompto knew how this worked. He trusted Prompto. “No I want to…”

“But you have to prepare,” Prompto said. “You gotta make sure everything is cleaned out. A dick up your ass is _a lot_.”

Noctis started to laugh and he continued to laugh once he heard Prompto do the same with equal measure. It took a while for the both of them to calm down but that cemented the fact that Noctis would be in good hands.

“Noct,” Prompto asked. “Did you hear me? You need to prepare.”

“I’m ready,” Noctis said truthfully. “And Ignis told me what to buy at the store the other day to prepare.”

Noctis heard Prompto laugh even more. “Jeez, okay so sex makes you less grumpy. Got it.”

“Shut up,” Noctis said. If that’s what Prompto thought this was all about, he was going to roll with it. “It’s been a month Prompto.” 

“Better late than never huh?” Prompto said happily. “Well, might as well get the rest of these pants off…”

Noctis could not help but smile but Prompto peeled away the pants off with no ease at all. He heard Prompto trying his best not to giggle his way through it all. There was some small satisfaction when Noctis heard a very audible “Wow” when he was completely naked on the bed. 

“Where is the stuff Noctis?” Prompto asked, his breathing sounded uneven. 

“Bottom drawer Prompto,” Noctis cannot help but laugh again. “Don’t get lost.”

“I’m not lost… oh there it is,” Prompto said but the mattress creaked even louder. Noctis knew Prompto was in a hurry. “Turn over Noct.”

“Seriously?” Noctis asked but he moved either way. He was already hard and the thought of Prompto on top of him—

“—Hey,” Prompto was on top of him... well partially. But Noctis felt Prompto’s fingers reach down and then there was a light smack on his butt. That made Noctis turn around while Prompto laughed again.

“Sorry I had to,” Prompto said. “I swear I’ll do it now. Just relax… or it’ll hurt.”

“Okay okay,” Noctis huffed. He buried his head onto the pillow and waited. Noctis heard the lube bottle open and shut while he waited. Then he felt Prompto reach down and then he held his breath as Prompto moved one finger slowly against the entrance. Noctis breathed deeply and in all honesty, it did feel weird. 

“Are you okay?” Prompto asked. He continued to move until his whole finger was inside of Noctis. 

“It feels funny,” Noctis said truthfully.

“Well,” Prompto laughed lowly. “At least it’s not hurting you.”

Noctis felt Prompto lay on him while his hand continued to move inside of him. The only thing that felt good was Prompto kissing Noctis’ back and a free hand roaming in Noctis’ hair. After a while Prompto asked for the second finger to be put in and Noctis was nervous about it but nodded. The second finger, finally drew out a moan from Noctis that he was not expecting. Prompto slid them in slowly at first and continued to kiss Noctis’ back while Prompto picked up the pace. Noctis could feel Prompto’s fingers scissoring him from the inside while one finger began to hit _that_ spot. Despite it all, Noctis could not help but lift his hips to the touch. It was starting to feel good.

“Mhmmm,” Noctis could not mask his voice at all. It felt new and different and nothing like he imagined. Prompto kissed the side of Noctis’ head while he took out his hand and Noctis felt empty. He did not want it to end.

“More?” Prompto asked as he breathed hard in Noctis’ hair. All Noctis could do was nod as a third finger went in. This time, it did hurt. Noctis clinged onto his pillow and hoped that his moans weren’t as loud and it did not sound like he was in pain.

“Are you okay?” Prompto asked. Noctis could feel the fingers continuing to go in but he was dealing with it as best he could. 

“Y-yes,” Noctis hoped that if he said it aloud, it would become true. 

“Breathe Noct,” Prompto reminded him. Noctis felt like the pain started to go away the longer Prompto maneuvered inside. It began to feel good to have Prompto rotate his hand and settle into a rhythm. Everything was just Prompto and Noctis had no idea how to feel about that. It was so new and different from what he was used to. The build up and not being able to touch each other like this was making him really crazy but he was not going to tell Prompto about that.

Noctis was going to show Prompto.

“Are you ready?” Prompto asked. Noctis arched his back while Prompto’s fingers were pulled out. Noctis reached out for another pillow and Prompto grabbed it from Noctis. As much as their current position would be good for this, Noctis wanted to wrap his legs and his arms around Prompto. He was close enough to make that a reality now. Prompto seemed to understand the sentiment and moved that pillow so that it would lift up Noctis’ hips up more.

“Yeah,” Noctis’ voice felt heavy. He just wanted it now. His body felt sensitive to every touch and he heard every creak of the mattress. Prompto’s voice was guiding him now. Prompto told him to turn around and he was more than happy to do that again. He was more than happy to spread his legs as he felt Prompto move in closer. He heard the crinkle of hard plastic being ripped and Prompto’s right hand on his hip. 

“No second thoughts?” Prompto asked, but Noctis could hear his Soulmate’s voice breaking. 

“Now Prom,” Noctis really did not want to say please. He tried to shift lower and felt like he was a second away from passing out.

Before Noctis could even entertain the thought of what was going to happen next, Prompto kissed him again. One of Prompto’s hands was cupping Noctis’ face and the other touched his chest and gave his dick a tug. Noctis could not help but moan against Prompto’s lips. Noctis felt his hips buck when the hand was gone and he squirmed a bit when he heard the “pop” of the lubricant bottle open again. Noctis just closed his eyes and sighed. He has been waiting for so long. Noctis could hardly believe his luck, Prompto was _here_ and they are finally doing this.

“Ahh....”

When Prompto did enter Noctis, he forgot how to breathe even though Prompto had been telling him to it for so long. The rush of all the sensations from fullness to heat to pain started to take over. Noctis’ legs feel numb through it all. He could finally breathe when he remembered that he had to. It doesn’t hurt as much as Noctis thought it would.

Prompto is inside of him, Noctis keeps marinating on that while he clinged onto his Soulmate. Noctis could not help but leave marks on his back, but Prompto hasn’t said anything either. His Soulmate is oddly quiet through all of this. 

Prompto does kiss Noctis on the cheek as he continued to move slowly. That kiss is light and it felt tentative and unsure. All Noctis wanted to do was tell Prompto that it is okay but Noctis can’t do anything else but grind his teeth and pant deeply. Prompto does not even try to move an inch once he is completely in. His breathing is uneven as Noctis feels the puffs in his hair.

“You’re shaking Prom,” Noctis reached up to cup Prompto’s face. Maybe he was the one shaking but Noctis felt like trying to string a coherent sentence was asinine. Noctis felt one of Prompto’s hands cover his own.

“I… I-I’m f-fine,” Prompto said with stifled breaths. “I’m ready.”

Noctis felt like he was too, but the other part of him realized maybe he was never ready for this. He felt that same feeling from earlier. Small and inadequate and dissapointing. He felt even smaller now but the other part of him felt that this was all he ever needed. 

He just needed Prompto.

“Me too,” Noctis felt the finality of it. He took a deep breath and Prompto finally did move. The first thrust was barely one but Noctis still moaned into Prompto’s chest. They started out slow and safe which Noctis was grateful for. As Prompto began to be less tentative, Noctis grabbed on tighter. He was still getting used to this new feeling. Prompto was not talking at all which worried Noctis a bit. All Noctis could hear was his gasps and groans as Noctis would grab on tighter to Prompto’s back. Prompto has one hand on Noctis’ hip to and the other in Noctis’ hair.

“N-Noct…”

Prompto kissed Noctis again and it was sloppy. The thrusts slowed down and Noctis started to feel dizzy. Noctis could feel his head graze the headboard. Prompto was starting to pick up the pace a bit. Noctis focused on on locking his legs around Prompto to steady himself. 

“... _Noct_ …” 

After a while, Noctis could swear that maybe the pain is gone. Even though that does not feel true at all. Noctis feels that same mixture of pain, heat and fullness but that must be a part of the experience. And when Prompto hits that spot again, Noctis feels his back arch and another loud moan comes out. Noctis hopes that Prompto just hits that spot again. And again. Prompto takes the hint and keeps at it.

“Prom… ahh”

Noctis feels the tension from before go away. The pain, fullness and heat is growing and threatening to consume Noctis. It gets even worse when Prompto bears into him harder. Noctis knows Prompto is getting carried away too. The pressure begins to build when Noctis feels his thighs tightening their hold on Prompto. He could feel Prompto throbbing inside of him and Noctis can’t form a single thought that isn’t of his Soulmate. Each thrust makes Noctis twitch his body upward, but Prompto is already there to meet him. Their chests cannot get any closer to each other. 

Even though this is not the first time Noctis has had sex, it feels so different than those times before. The rhythm that they are in now makes Noctis feel like he can’t breathe. All he can do is just moan every time Prompto moves. Noctis cannot help but breathe into Prompto’s neck and kiss him. Noctis can finally hear Prompto’s quiet moans but he has been so quiet the whole time.

“Prom…”

Noctis started to poke at Prompto’s side and called his name again. “Prom?”

“Y-yes?” Prompto stammered. He was breathing hard and the pace slowed down to where they started from at the beginning.

“Are you okay?” Noctis steadied his breathing.

“Yeah,” Prompto giggled lightly. “I’m just concentrating.”

“Okay,” Noctis took a deep breath. He was sweating and his breathing was still not steady at all. Prompto sounded like he could not breathe well either. “It’s just that... I couldn’t hear you.”

“Oh,” Prompto laughed. “Well when I come, you’ll hear _that_ huh?”

Noctis found himself laughing again and Prompto did the same thing. After Noctis stopped laughing, Prompto moved again and Noctis continued to smile. It is in this moment that Noctis realizes that he has never felt this vulnerable to anyone in his life. He had worked so hard not to feel that way since his accident. It felt terrifying, that Prompto managed to make him feel that way. Prompto held onto him now and he had overcome so much to be with Noctis. It felt so right and he could only imagine how Prompto felt in this moment. Noctis’ felt Prompto’s thrusts coming in harder as Noctis felt like he was close. Prompto’s hand grabbed Noctis’ dick and began to pump him in time with the thrusts and Noctis never knew this was all he needed. His body shivered and he could not hold back the noises that he made.

Only Prompto could make him this crazy. 

He was the one.

“ _Noct_... I’m…”

Noctis wanted to answer back that he was close too. But he can’t. As Prompto moved harder, Noctis can’t even think of anything to say. His sighs and groans are incoherent. The space between his hips is just full of Prompto. Every inch of his body is just Prompto. Noctis can feel Prompto throbbing even more as his movements become more erratic and maybe that’s what pushes them over the edge.

Noctis heard Prompto come. All that pent up heat was spent and Noctis panted hard as he felt Prompto continue to move on top of him. That was what it took and Noctis felt himself come undone. He heard his moan and his body shiver and convulse as he came hard. There was nothing else Noctis could think to do except ride out the high. Prompto collapsed on top of him as they both tried to catch their breaths. 

Neither one of them said a thing, maybe they weren’t ready to talk yet. The silence was fine.

“Noct…”

“Yeah…?”

There was a long pause.

“I love you.”

_Oh…_

“You don’t have to say it back,” Prompto said quickly. “I just wanted to tell you so you know—”

“—I love you too.”

Noctis felt a swell of relief hit him suddenly. That was it. His uneasiness was gone. _Of course_ Prompto loved him, he just needed to hear it. Maybe that’s why Ignis and Gladio called him stupid the other night during their game of scrabble. “Why haven’t you told him yet?” Gladio had asked him while Prompto went to the restroom. Noctis had no idea what they were talking about but that was a lie. Noctis knew.

“I have to get used to saying it,” Prompto grinned. “ _I love you_.” Prompto said it in a dreamy tone. “I… love… you.” Prompto said that with a punctuated tone. “ _I_ love you…” Prompto drawled and waited until he heard a sigh from Noctis.

“Shut up Prompto,” Noctis said with a smile on his face.

“Hey,” Prompto said. “Is this why you were acting weird?”

Noctis thought about it and there was no point in lying. He nodded and sighed again when Prompto laughed.

“I knew it!” Prompto grinned into Noctis’ neck. It was messy and neither Noctis nor Prompto made any moves to get up. Their legs were tangled and the post-sex high was still there as well as the mess they made. “Seriously though, if you want to have sex, just tell me. Because I probably want to have sex too.”

“ _You_ were injured,” Noctis said in an exasperated tone. “And I hurt you that last time.”

“ _You_ are just mad that you missed out on a month of handjobs.”

Noctis hated that Prompto was right but he wasn’t going to tell him that now.

“I do love you though,” Prompto said it again and Noctis realized he was never going to get sick of Prompto saying it to him.

“Me too.”

There was another pause. Neither of them spoke, Prompto just clinged onto Noctis tightly. 

“How much do I owe for rent?”

“You don’t have to pay me for rent. Worry about your student loans.”

“... Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

Noctis felt like he was falling asleep but Prompto kept chatting about how good that would be. He also said that he could pay the cable, water and electric bills at least. Noctis nodded and just yawned. Prompto started talking about something else but Noctis could not keep his eyes open. 

“You are amazing Noctis.”

Noctis could not help but laugh. He did not want to think about the fact that Prompto could have been gone and he would have been alone in the apartment. He did not want to think about how much it meant to Noctis that of course, they’d do this tonight and say their first “I love yous.” He remembered hearing Prompto’s voice after his class and it was everything. That was the beginning and tonight was the start of their lives together.

 _This_ was everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this a gift for all that tension I put y'all through! ^__^
> 
> Last chapter will be coming soon! I am so appreciative that you all have stuck through for this long. I hope all of you enjoyed this and have stuck by since the beginning. You have my utmost thanks and appreciation!


	17. To Build a Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end...

Prompto felt so uncomfortable. He made attempts to lighten the mood throughout the night but that felt so stupid. Noctis could probably sense his discomfort but he was not saying anything either. Every time he ducked his head to look at the menu, Prompto could feel Noctis’ dad staring at him as though he disapproved of the whole thing. The restaurant they were in had strict formal attire standards. Prompto did not even own a suit. The last suit he wore was to his senior prom. That was years ago and he had to scramble to find an outfit to wear. Ignis and Gladio were helpful on that front. They showed him a shop where they got all of their suits from. It made the process easier, but Prompto felt like this suit should have been a couple inches bigger around the neck. When did it get so stuffy?

“So Prompto…”

Immediately, Prompto raised his head. Noctis’ father, who he had met here and there, looked slightly terrifying. There was this fire in his eyes that Prompto thought could kill him right then and there. Prompto hadn’t even called the man by his first name yet even though Mr. Caelum said that he could a year ago.

“Yes sir,” Prompto said with raised eyebrows. Noctis grinned at the formality.

“That exhibit is going to open in a week right?” Mr. Caelum asked.

“Yes sir,” Prompto mumbled. “I just need to go in and see how it looks. But so far so good right? Yeah I am nervous though, because I have to say a speech and I am not really good at that. Talking to people about my photos I mean. Yeah…”

_Oh no…_

“I see,” Mr. Caelum said with a tone of displeasure in his voice. Noctis moves his body a bit towards Prompto and mouthed “relax” at Prompto. All Prompto can do is shake his head and not relax.

“I’m going to the restroom,” Noctis announced before tapping on Umbra’s back slightly. Prompto almost wanted to tell Noctis to stay and that he can hold it in. But Prompto didn’t. He just watched the love of his life leave him to flounder like an idiot. This restaurant had a 5 course meal on the menu that added up to Prompto’s two week paycheck. He was so out of place and now he was not even sure if he should ask Mr. Caelum what he wanted in the first place. Prompto was an idiot.

“So Prompto,” Mr. Caelum said suddenly. He was staring at Prompto again. Wide eyed and with a smirk on his face. “You have something you want to ask me?”

“Y-yes sir,” Prompto croaked. “W-well… I have to ask you something important. Umm… well I already talked with Noct.. umm Noctis about it. It’s umm, well i-it’s important. I umm… I had been saving up for it for a w-while...” Why was this so hard?

“How long have you two been dating now?” Mr. Caelum asked. He was speaking slowly and still eyed Prompto like he could burn him alive. Or maybe that was Prompto’s imagination.

“Mr. Caleum—”

“—Please call me Regis,” Mr. Caelum laughed finally. Prompto thought that was a dare.

“R-regis?” Prompto stammered. “Well… we have been dating for two years and a month.” Prompto nodded and continued to feel like an idiot.

“So what have you been saving up for?” Mr. Caelum asked.

“Well,” Prompto cleared his throat. It was now or never. Maybe if he said it fast, it would be better. “Umm…”

“Just say it,” Mr. Caelum chuckled. Prompto wondered if he was enjoying watching Prompto stutter like an idiot.

“Umm…” Prompto took a deep breath and said it. “IreallywanttomarryyoursonbutIwantedtotellyoubeforeIdothat.”

Shit! Shit. _Shit…_

“I didn’t quite catch that,” Regis blinked back at Prompto.

“I want to marry Noctis,” Prompto said it slowly this time. His heart was in his throat and if Mr. Caelum said no, Prompto would totally understand why.

Mr. Caelum laughed and Prompto felt like he should run to the restroom and wash his face. He also felt like throwing up the 4th part of the 5 course meal.

“Sure,” Mr. Caelum said. Prompto blinked because that did not sound correct at all.

“What?” Prompto asked because he had to be sure. “Seriously?”

“If you want to marry him, go ahead.” Mr. Caelum was not eating some caviar that Prompto thought was delicious. Prompto wondered if maybe Noctis did inherit some of his father’s taste buds.

“Even if I said no,” Mr. Caelum began. “And I wouldn’t have, by the way Prompto.” Prompto watched Mr. Caelum smile widely. “But _if_ I said no, I know you two would have done it either way. You two are settled and I have never seen my son so happy. He looks… he looks better. Before he met you, he was doing things to please everyone else. I’m glad he enjoys being a lawyer but part of me wondered if that was what he _really_ wanted to do. And then you came along and I feel like he is more complete now. So, just let me know when you two are planning it. I’ll have to make sure I can make things move around in my schedule.”

Prompto couldn’t believe what he was hearing so he processed the words and tried to make sense of it.

“Anything else Prompto?” Mr. Caelum asked. “I invited your Dad to a game of golf this weekend but he hasn’t gotten back to me.”

“Oh,” Prompto nodded. “I’ll mention it to him...”

“Noctis is coming back Prompto,” Mr. Caelum pointed towards the direction of the restroom. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“S-Sure,” Prompto sputtered. “Um… so how is the b-business? Keeping ya busy huh?”

Prompto looked at Noctis, who began to sit down. When Noctis sat up a bit straighter, he just shook his head at Prompto. Noctis was probably going to tell him on the ride home that he needs to relax a bit more. Of course, but Prompto did not know what relaxing meant. His gallery was opening up in a week and he was busy but it was no use. He could not relax this week. Hell, he didn’t even think he could ask Noctis to marry him either. Prompto thought he could hold it off for a while longer and maybe communicate it some other way.

Noctis talked with his father about something else regarding adult school classes. Prompto dragged Noctis along for the “Advanced” ceramics class last month. Prompto and Noctis just laughed most of the time while they made badly made vases. But the point was that they both had fun meanwhile talking to older retired couples. One nice couple even made them a massive crochet blanket. Noctis poked at Prompto and said that next year, they’d try the crochet class and Prompto nodded in agreement.

Prompto just watched the two of them talk to one another. Noctis said that he was still going to teach that music class and Prompto remembered meeting him there. It had already been two years…

In that two years, they had done so much together. They already knew which food places that they liked, which chores each one liked to do and what home cooked meals they could cook together. Noctis would hum along to the music that would play on the old video games Prompto would play occasionally. Umbra would bark when they would laugh too loud at a stupid joke and at the inside jokes they had now. Prompto ignored the waiter bringing in their desserts and just looked at Noctis and realized how much he just wanted to drag him to a courthouse and marry him there. But he had to ask Noctis first.

“Prompto?” Noctis shook Prompto’s arm lightly. “Dad said you aren’t eating your dessert.”

“Umm,” Prompto coughed lightly and felt the temperature increasing in the restaurant again. “You can have it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Caelum caught his eye and nodded at Prompto. Noctis just ate the dessert and was unaware of why Prompto was so nervous. Prompto watched Noctis eat and closed his eyes. There had to be a way for Prompto to pull this all off.

***

There were so many people at the gallery. He could not count how many people walked through. Prompto bounced on his heels the entire time. Although that incident from a few years ago with Ardyn was old news, there were still a large amount of press that were here. Prompto did not look back fondly at being hounded by them. Thankfully, he remembered being away with Noctis and having his Soulmate maintain that sense of normalcy that he needed then.

Prompto made note of Luna and Nyx who waved at him when he caught their eyes. Aranea and Cindy were also there and near the table filled with food. Their wedding was going to be around the Holidays which made Prompto swell with happiness. Prompto could have sworn he saw Gladio but he was not sure. Maybe Ignis and Gladio were going to bring Noctis together after getting off of work? Maybe Noctis told him this morning about that but Prompto felt like throwing up all day. He couldn’t relax at all. It was happening.

“Hey Stud,” Cindy drawled as she approached Prompto with a tight hug. “Don’t be nervous.”

“I am nervous though!” Prompto whined truthfully.

“Let me handle this babe,” Aranea patted Prompto on the back. Her mouth was full but she swallowed and eyed her best friend wearily. Cindy smiled widely at the two of them. “Noctis is going to love this and you worked so hard. Before you know it, it’ll be over. You and pretty boy can go get ice cream or... something.”

“Thanks,” Prompto looked at Cindy, who just grinned widely. “I think?”

“All these photos look amazing Prompto,” Aranea began. “Just focus on that okay.”

“Right right,” Prompto wondered if it was normal to feel this nervous about some pictures.

“Hey Prompto,” Nyx was now tapping his shoulder. “She wants to ask you a few questions.” Nyx tilted his head in Luna’s direction. She did have a recorder in her hand but she was not as serious as she had looked when Prompto would go out with her for stories. Luna had a huge grin on her face but it wavered a bit when she pressed the record button.

“Mr. Ar… Leonis,” Luna cleared her throat and eyed Prompto with admiration. “Your photos have received wide acclaim and this is your first exhibit correct?”

“Yes Luna.”

“And what makes this exhibit different is that it is interactive correct?”

“Yes,” Prompto cleared his throat. “I made this exhibit mostly for the pictures I’ve taken throughout the years. But mostly for my Soulmate.” He paused but continued. “My Soulmate is blind and I love taking photographs, so I wanted a way to show him what I did for a living. So he helped me come up with the descriptions for each photo. I also made sure that there was a way that this exhibit was accessible to everyone. So yeah…”

Luna patted his shoulder and smiled at him widely. “I’m sure he is going to love it.”

“Thank you,” Prompto coughed and was glad that Luna stopped recording to give him a hug. “I just don’t know where he is.”

“He said he was running late,” Luna said. She showed Prompto the text she received on her phone. “Something at the office. Gladio, Ignis and Iris are coming too. Also, Crowe,” Luna pointed at the reporter that Prompto had gotten to know a bit better over the years. “She’s going to do the full report for the paper. Alright?”

“Sure,” Prompto replied back. “I guess I’ll just wait.”

It was not that long of a wait. Crowe had followed Prompto around while he explained a few of the photos that he enjoyed. There was one the first year he worked as a photojournalist. It was of this pregnant woman that opened her business near the outskirts of Insomnia. She was a refugee from Gralea and was so proud that she was able to do it all on her own. Prompto learned later that she was able to open another shop near Hammerhead that sold goods to travelers. The picture had stayed with Prompto. She was wide eyed with her hands scrubbing the countertop with a light coming into the shop. Prompto always thought she looked beautiful. It was one of the first photos that got him the front page of the paper. Luna loved the picture at the time and she later confided in Prompto that she could not wait until he could see in color.

There was another one of a man that worked on the wall of Insomnia. This was shortly after the tentative peace treaty had been signed between Niflheim and Lucis. He was a tiny spec compared to the wall. But he looked up at it and pointed to the top. The various night work lights made his shadow look bigger than he appeared. That was one that Prompto’s father liked the most. It was the symbol that the war times were indeed over. That man was the one who would begin the process of tearing down the wall.

Prompto’s favorite picture in the collection, if he had to pick one, was the first one that he took of Noctis. They were not clear at all. The shutters were blurry and it was a collection of 8 shots. That was the moment when he could finally see everything. Prompto had forgotten how scared he was. Noctis seemed unreachable at the time. The last picture had Noctis smiling with his father. Prompto looked at that photo and knew that he was too lucky to have captured this on camera.

There were other pictures too. Some of them included Aranea when she proposed to Cindy. In another picture, Prompto captured Gladio carrying Ignis on their wedding day. There was another one of his father and Prompto at the courthouse to make the adoption official. Prompto had to change his professional name but it was okay. Prompto Leonis sounded better anyways.

“Hey.”

Prompto turned around and there he was. Noctis smiled at him and Prompto thought he looked _good_.

“Hey.”

Prompto grabbed Noctis’ hand and walked with him throughout the exhibit. Noctis touched every photo and read every description that was there. He asked Prompto questions about all of them. It had been a while since Noctis wrote the descriptions. Prompto struggled to remember a few of the finer details, only because the photos that were taken were before his life with Noctis. But despite that he had enjoyed explaining them to his Soulmate. No one bothered them. Prompto would watch as their friends looking through the gallery and he was happy that everyone else seemed the enjoy themselves.

Crowe approached Prompto again and asked Noctis a few questions. Noctis seemed tired and a bit nervous as well, but he was still polite and cordial. Prompto nodded and watched Crowe as she looked suddenly at Iris’ direction. She was alone and looked at a portrait of Regis. Prompto watched her and then looked back at Crowe, who looked like she was gasping for air.

Prompto smiled widely as Iris finally caught Crowe’s eye.

Crowe dropped her notepad and fresh tears started to fall onto her face. She got on her knees and began to cry while hiding her face. Iris smiled widely and walked over. Prompto had never seen Iris smile so widely as she rushed over to Crowe. Iris was crying too but it was happy tears from what Prompto could tell. Gladio and Ignis looked on, absolutely wide eyed while Aranea did a small cheer for the two women crying on the floor.

“That’s so cute,” Cindy was crying too but it seemed that most of the people in the gallery were looking at the two new Soulmates embracing each other.

Noctis had asked what had happened and Prompto explained it briefly through his own tears. After a while, Noctis hugged Prompto and the two of them heard the rest of the people at the exhibit burst into applause because two people were going to fall in love soon.

***

After things had settled down for a bit, Noctis had remained with Prompto until the last few stragglers began to leave. Prompto’s father and even Noctis’ made a brief appearance. Noctis thought it was weird that their fathers were becoming friends but Prompto did not think so. Dads probably enjoyed talking about Dad stuff forever.

The curator of the art exhibit told the two of them they could stay for a while she prepared some paperwork for Prompto. It had to do with insurance and how much Prompto would be paid if there was a profit. Noctis told Prompto to pass the paperwork along to him later so that he could read it. Prompto thought it was silly but he would indulge Noctis.

“I actually wanted to show you one that I think you missed,” Prompto had said. It had to be now. He was ready and he was happy that no one else was here.

“Oh,” Noctis said quietly. “Sure…”

They walked in silence and Prompto watched Noctis and wanted to know if there was any way Noctis knew what he was about to do. Noctis had read the descriptions of all of the pictures but there was one that Prompto had avoided. He was actually thrilled that Iris and Crowe saw each other for the first time. It made Prompto less nervous over the night.

Now though, the finality of this moment made Prompto feel like the temperature was too hot in the room.

“Are you okay?” Noctis asked. Prompto wanted to lie but he figured that would do no good.

“Umm,” Prompto stammered. “Well… I have to ask you something.” Prompto realized his mistake and backtracked. “Well, _first_ let me show you something.”

Noctis tilted his head. Prompto loved that about Noctis too. He usually did that if Prompto was being ridiculous.

Prompto stopped the two of them in front of a wide portrait. It was that first picture the day after he and Noctis spent the night together at his old dinky apartment. Prompto looked at it clearly. It was Noctis with his eyes closed with a small smile on his face. Strands of light from the sunrise highlighted the bedhead he sported. Noctis’ pillow was Prompto’s chest and it was just perfect. They were a bit younger and had no idea how good they had it then and there. Prompto remembered that he didn’t want to leave but he was glad that he did. Going back to Niflheim a year ago to face Ardyn along with Aranea seemed like a dream. They were able to present their evidence and Prompto remembered how good it felt to do something that good. He just wanted to see Noctis and did not want to imagine what life was like without him.

“What is it then,” Noctis asked. Prompto guided his hand towards the picture on the wall and waited for Noctis to read it.

⠠⠊⠀⠇⠕⠧⠑⠀⠽⠀⠎⠀⠍⠡⠀⠠⠝⠕⠉⠞⠊⠎⠲⠀⠠⠊⠀⠅⠝⠑⠺⠀⠱⠑⠝⠀⠠⠊⠀⠞⠕⠕⠅⠀⠹⠀⠏⠊⠉⠞⠥⠗⠑⠀⠞⠀⠠⠊⠀⠴⠀⠛⠕⠬⠀⠞⠕⠀⠍⠜⠗⠽⠀⠽⠲⠀⠠⠊⠀⠺⠁⠝⠞⠀⠥⠀⠞⠕⠀⠛⠗⠪⠀⠕⠇⠙⠀⠞⠛⠗⠲⠀⠠⠽⠀⠸⠉⠀⠐⠥⠌⠯⠀⠓⠪⠀⠓⠁⠏⠏⠽⠀⠽⠀⠍⠁⠅⠑⠀⠍⠑⠲⠀⠠⠽⠀⠓⠀⠍⠁⠙⠑⠀⠍⠑⠀⠌⠗⠕⠝⠛⠻⠀⠯⠀⠠⠊⠀⠁⠍⠀⠏⠗⠊⠧⠊⠇⠑⠛⠫⠀⠞⠕⠀⠓⠀⠽⠀⠃⠽⠀⠍⠽⠀⠎⠊⠙⠑⠲⠀⠠⠺⠀⠽⠀⠍⠜⠗⠽⠀⠍⠑⠦

Prompto watched Noctis’ expression change from mild amusement to him stopping half way to compose himself. Noctis had tears rolling down his face and did not turn his body to face Prompto for a while. All Prompto could do was wait.

“... t-that’s why I was late tonight,” Noctis stammered. He reached forward to grab Prompto’s hand. “I-I thought you would do something like this...”

“Huh?” Prompto didn’t realize he was crying too but Noctis smiled at Prompto.

“Yes,” Noctis said simply. “I got you one too.”

“Really?” Prompto asked. Noctis, with his other hand pulled out a tiny box and handed it to Prompto.

“Yeah,” Noctis replied. When Prompto held the box, Noctis finally wiped the tears off of his face. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

Prompto felt the knot in his stomach go away. Another feeling emerged within Prompto. They were both still crying in front of a picture and Prompto had no idea what to do next. So he did the only thing that came so easy: He hugged Noctis and kissed him. It was not like the other ones they had shared over the years. They were both in tears but they were laughing and smiling when they’d break apart. When Prompto kissed both of Noctis’ eyelids, they finally calmed down a bit.

“Where’s my ring by the way?” Noctis smirked. He continued to wipe away his tears with his sleeves.

“Oh!” Prompto exclaimed. “Umm…” Prompto dug through his pockets and found the box he was looking for and handed it to Noctis. “I hope I picked out a good one.”

“I’m sure you did,” Noctis smiled widely. He stepped forward a bit and reached forward to touch Prompto’s face. He moved the bangs Prompto had away from his forehead and kissed it gently. Prompto took the hint and kissed Noctis again. It was a kiss devoid of tears and laughter. These kisses were filled with the hope of what would happen tomorrow.

Prompto and Noctis swayed on that spot for a long time. They embraced each other and they were not interrupted. Their kisses deepened and Prompto realized maybe ten minutes later or maybe it was an hour later that maybe he should look at the ring Noctis gave him. The other part of him did not care.

He had all that he needed here. There was nothing else that mattered.

***

**Lucian Times: Sunday Edition**   
**Arts Section**

By Crowe Altius with additional reporting by Lunafreya Nox Flueret

A new gallery has opened in the bustling Palm district. The Azo Gallery for the next six months is now housing the photographs of photojournalist, Prompto Leonis. What makes this gallery different from others is the presentation of the photos. Most galleries have their art sealed off with glass, security guards and rope surrounding the art for protective purposes. This gallery, encourages its visitors to touch the photos presented. The reason for this is because of the descriptions presented in the photos. All the photographs include braille transcripts of each photograph on display.

The reason for this is simple: Mr. Leonis’ Soulmate and partner, business lawyer Noctis Lucis Caelum, is blind. The gallery and all the work presented inside is dedicated to his Soulmate of two years. Their love story, is documented in a few of the pictures of the gallery. There are other pictures present as well that show off Mr. Leonis’ eye for catching newsmaking events. Included in these pictures is the well documented event involving him and Times journalist, Aranea Highwind’s traumatic involvement in the Ardyn Izunia case two years prior.

The pictures show the contrast between an artist before and after having his eyes opened to a world of color. One section of the gallery displays couples in love with one another and their daily lives. There are even a few documenting couples that include one or both partners who are blind.

Mr. Leonis had much to say for his presentation of his photos. There was one in particular that he wanted to show his partner specifically. It is of both men in a particularly intimate moment with the two in bed together.

“I am going to pop the question tonight to Noctis [Lucis Caelum]. That picture over there doesn’t have a description but it has my proposal. So I hope that goes well.”

When the reporter asked what the description entailed, Mr. Leonis provided a transcript.

> I love you so much Noctis. I knew when I took this picture that I was going to marry you. I want us to grow old together. You cannot understand how happy you make me. You have made me stronger and I am privileged to have you by my side. Will you marry me?

Here is hoping that Mr. Caelum did say yes.

***

When Noctis woke up on Sunday morning, he was surprised that Prompto was still asleep. Usually it was the other way around. Noctis felt the the same, in all honesty. Ignis and Gladio kept pestering him about when either he or Prompto would propose to one another. It annoyed him but he kept quiet about it.

He knew Prompto would ask him eventually.

In fact the only thing that felt different was the ring that he had on his finger. He didn’t want to take it off. He _never_ wanted to take it off.

All he wanted right now was for Prompto to wake up. They had to pick up where they left off. Last night was too good to be true...

“I love you Prompto.”

Noctis smiled when he crawled up Prompto’s chest. Maybe Prompto would take the updated version of _that_ picture. It was still early and they had all the time to tell each other that they loved each other. So Noctis waited until Prompto woke up.

Until that happened, Noctis fell right back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! This chapter just had to come out, I was on a roll and said what the hell! I am so happy to present this to you all. I am so proud of this fic. It was a labor of love for me. I am so happy that I finished this. It seemed like such an impossible thing but I am glad it came to and end. Thank you all once again for the support and love. It makes me really happy that y'all enjoyed this so much. I enjoyed writing it and I cannot wait to start a new project soon. 
> 
> Thank you! Catch me on tumblr @malinche and on twitter @noctisserie Have a wonderful weekend!


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